There's Always Hope
by Arwennicole
Summary: Takes place after Hit/Run. Will didn't survive the attack and Emily is now in charge of Interpol. Just when the team nothing else could go wrong, what happens though when something does go wrong and there's a chance they could lose another teammate for good?
1. A Changing Life

There's Always Hope

By

Nicole

**Summary: Takes place after _Hit/Run_. Will didn't survive the attack and Emily is now in charge of Interpol. Just when the team nothing else could go wrong, what happens though when something does go wrong and there's a chance they could lose another teammate for good?**

There's Always Hope

Chapter 1: A Changing Life

Reid was sitting in the passenger's seat of the SUV while JJ was speeding down the road with sirens blaring. "Remember to keep your eyes open for any traps, this unsub likes to keep his "targets" on their toes," Hotch told the team over their radios.

"We got it Hotch, we're almost there," Reid answered.

Pulling up to an abandoned warehouse, Reid and JJ got out of the SUV with their guns drawn. "We should wait until everyone else shows up," Reid told her.

"If we don't go in now he'll end up killing those people," JJ replied.

Reid held his gun up and they snuck up the stairs with JJ in front of him. As they made their way through the dark halls, she saw a slightly open door. "Spence," she called softly. She gestured toward the door and Reid slowly pushed to open to reveal the hostages inside. They hurried inside to get the people out when they heard laughter over the PA system that was hooked up in the room.

"Welcome Agents Jaurea and Dr. Reid, I've been waiting for you," the unsub laughed over the system.

Reid lifted his head up and looked around. "Looks like you found the prize, darn, you ended the game early," he sneered. As two agents got the hostages to escape, JJ looked over her shoulder to see someone run by the door.

"JJ, he went that way," Reid told her as they got up and ran out of the room to follow the unsub.

They ran up the stairs, heading towards another level of the warehouse. "FBI freeze," Reid ordered, holding his gun up. The man's back was facing them both.

"Put your hands on your head and get on your knees, your game is over, Charles Whitmore," JJ put in.

Their unsub just chuckled at them, as if one of them had told a somewhat funny joke. "Do you two truly believe that the game is over? No…I've only just begun," he answered. It was at that very moment, Reid saw a device in his hand. He looked up and his eyes grew wide when he saw that he had strapped a bomb to the ceiling.

"JJ get out!" he exclaimed, shoving her towards the stairs.

They went to run back down the stairs when the bomb blew up above their heads. JJ suddenly felt Reid pushing her to the floor and was covering her from the blast. Her arm and shoulder throbbed from hitting the floor and heard laughing above her and Reid. Looking up, she saw the unsub standing above them. "Well, looks like it is you who lost the first round," he sneered before he went down the stairs.

JJ went to get up when she realized that Reid wasn't moving. "Spence?" she called, moving out from underneath him, "Spence?" Her eyes grew wide when she saw blood coming from the back of her fellow agent's head. "Spence!" she exclaimed. She pressed her hand against the back of his head before holding her walkie up to her mouth. "I need medical assistance immediately! We have an agent down, repeat agent down," she told to whoever was listening. She looked back at Reid's unconscious form. "Come on Spence, come on stay with me here," she insisted quietly, "Stay with me."

Even though it seemed like forever, JJ kept pressure on Reid's bleeding head when the paramedics finally arrived. "We've got it from here agent," the paramedic told her. JJ stood back with tears in her eyes as she watched as they loaded Reid onto the gurney.

"JJ!" Morgan called.

"Up here," she answered with tears in her eyes.

Morgan reached the top of the steps when he saw the paramedics getting Reid downstairs. "What happened?" he asked.

"It was a trap, Spence pushed me to the floor when he saw that it was a trap," she explained.

She hurried after the paramedics with Morgan right behind her. "Please don't make me lose him too," she whispered to herself.

_**JJ was sitting in the SUV with Rossi driving and Reid was in the backseat. "Don't do that," Rossi told her.**_

"_**What?" she asked.**_

"_**Get all quiet," Rossi replied.**_

"_**What am I supposed to do?" JJ asked.**_

"_**Yell," he told her.**_

_**She shook her head slowly. "I can't," she answered.**_

"_**You shouldn't blame yourself," Reid told her.**_

"_**Wanna bet?" she asked.**_

_**Reid moved behind her more and rested his hand on her shoulder. "I shouldn't have left Henry today…" she said quietly.**_

"_**You had no idea that this would happen," Rossi told her.**_

"_**I'm a mom," JJ answered.**_

"_**And a Federal Agent," Rossi told her.**_

"_**I'm a mom FIRST," she answered, swallowing hard.**_

"_**Who had no possible way of how this day could've turned out," Rossi told her.**_

_**Reid gave her shoulder a squeeze and she reached up, resting her hand over his when they pulled up to the house. She saw her neighbor, Kate, outside with Henry and her own daughter. Getting out of the car, JJ hurried over to the gate. "Mommy!" Henry called out happily as he got off the stoop, running to her.**_

"_**Hey baby," JJ murmured, lifting her son into her arms.**_

_**Reid had his hand resting in the middle of her back as they went inside. "They're going to be coming," he told her, "We should get you inside and wait." Nodding, she went inside with her son in her arms.**_

_**JJ looked at her son. "Hey, why don't you go with Uncle Spencer and we'll be playing a little game okay?" she asked.**_

"_**Hide-and-seek?"**_ _**Henry asked.**_

"_**Yes, that's exactly what we're going to play," JJ replied.**_

"_**Come on, let's go play," Spencer told the little boy, taking him to go hide.**_

_**As Reid was 'hiding' with Henry, they could hear all the doors opening as the two unsubs were coming into the house. Reaching into his holster, Reid pulled out his glock and winced as he made sure there was a bullet in the chamber before having the weapon sitting next to him. Suddenly, the closet door was ripped open and a gun was right in his face. "Well, look what we have here," Matthew Downs said with a sneer.**_

"_**Run Henry, go," Reid told the boy as Henry got up to run.**_

_**Just as the unsub was about to grab the boy, Spencer grabbed him around the waist, sending him into a wall. He could hear JJ and the unknown female were fighting in the hall. "HENRY!" he heard JJ shout. Matthew grabbed Reid, throwing him to the floor. He wrapped his hands around the agent's throat and started squeezing the air out of him. Reid struggled to get his hands off his throat when a gunshot rang out through the house.**_

_**Suddenly, Matthew stared at the agent with wide eyes before he fell. Reid pushed him off and saw Rossi standing there with his gun in hand. "You okay?" Rossi asked.**_

"_**Yeah," Reid replied, holding his throat.**_

_**Getting up, he ran around the corner to find JJ on the floor, holding a terrified Henry, crying. "Unca Pence," Henry called. Without even looking over her shoulder, JJ reached out with one arm and Reid walked over and knelt on the floor as his friend pulled him into the tight embrace. Both were relieved that Henry was okay.**_

JJ sat in the ambulance, watching as the paramedics were trying to get Reid's blood pressure stabled. "Come on Spence, please stay with us," she whispered.

When they arrived at the hospital, JJ kept a grip on Reid's hand as she was rushing through the halls with the paramedics. "Miss, you can't go any further," the doctor told her, forcing her to let Reid's hand go. JJ stood there with tears in her eyes as the doctors rushed Reid into surgery.

"JJ!" Morgan called as he and the rest of the team rushed to the ER.

JJ turned around to look at the team. "What happened?" Rossi asked.

"Um…we were following the unsub we…we had him cornered but it was a trap," she replied.

"We get that, but why did you go alone? Why didn't you wait?" Hotch asked.

JJ swallowed hard. "We thought that if we didn't get there immediately that he was going to kill everyone," she replied. She let out a deep breath as she was trying to keep herself together. Garcia walked over and hugged her tight. JJ hugged her back, choking back a sob. 'First Will now Spence," she said crying.

"Hey, don't think that way, Reid's going to be okay," Morgan told her.

Hotch walked over to JJ, resting his hand on her arm. "You need to be checked over," he told her, motioning to the blood on her arms and hands.

"None of it's mine," she told him, letting Garcia go.

Then her blue eyes grew wide as she looked at her hands. "Oh God I have Spence's blood on my hands," she said with a shaky voice.

"Garcia, get JJ cleaned up and then you and Morgan take her home," Hotch told her.

"No, I can't leave until Spence is out of surgery," she answered.

"JJ, the best thing you can do for Reid right now is to go home and be with Henry," Morgan told her.

"What am I going to tell Henry? He's still asking me when Will's coming home," JJ said quietly.

"You just tell Henry that his uncle is in the hospital because he got hurt and he'll be home soon," Morgan replied.

"Come on Peaches let's get you cleaned up," Garcia murmured as she led her friend to the bathroom.

After she got home, JJ was getting Henry ready for bed when her cell phone rang. "Is he okay?" she asked as soon as she answered.

"Reid's out of surgery now, the doctors are waiting for him to wake up," Morgan answered.

"I'm coming," JJ told him.  
"No, JJ, just stay home with Henry," Morgan told her.

"Unca Pence? Mama is dat Unca Pence?" the four-year-old asked.

Hanging up, JJ lifted her son up into her arms. "We're going to go see Uncle Spence," she told her son smiling. Henry beamed as JJ slipped shoes on the boy and they went to get to the hospital.

Arriving at the hospital, JJ came in with Henry on her hip. "What did the doctor say?" she asked.

"They say there's some swelling in the brain from the impact, he has a couple of fractured ribs, and a fractured wrist, other than the swelling in his head he should be alright," Hotch replied.

"Is he awake yet?" she asked.

"Not yet, Peaches," Garcia replied.

JJ kissed her son's forehead as she sat down, rocking her child in her arms as he started falling asleep that way.

An hour later, the doctor came out. "Is Jennifer Jaurea here?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied, handing Henry to Garcia.

She walked over to the doctor. "Is Spence okay?" she asked. The doctor just stared at her for a second.

"You are currently residing with Dr. Reid?" he asked.

She nodded her head slowly. "Come with me please," he told her. JJ frowned as she followed the doctor.

Walking into the hospital room, she saw Reid lying on his back, staring at the ceiling. His brown eyes were open, looking around. "Spence, you're awake," she said relieved, walking over. His eyes turned toward her and his forehead wrinkled in confusion.

"Spence?" he asked.


	2. Relearning

Chapter 2: Relearning

JJ stared at Reid with wide eyes. "Spence, come on this isn't funny," she insisted.

"Miss Jareau, could you just step back over here for a second?" the doctor asked.

She looked at the doctor as she stepped out of the room. "What's going on with him?" she asked.

"Miss Jareau…I'm afraid Dr. Reid is experiencing amnesia. He has lost both his short term and long term memory," he replied.

Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach and swallowed hard. "W—What…H—How long will this last?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"That I'm unsure," he replied.

She bit her lower lip. "I have a four-year-old son…he and I live with Spence...how can I explain this to my son?" she asked.

"Just explain it to him the best you can," the doctor replied.

She nodded her head slowly, looking back at her friend who was looking around in confusion. "Just have to be patient with Dr. Reid," he added. Again, she nodded before walking over to him.

"Hey Spence," she told him.

"Hi…" he answered slowly.

She let out a deep breath. "I'm Jennifer Jareau, but you're free to call me JJ," she told him. He nodded his head slowly as a nurse helped him sit up.

"Um…why am I here?" he asked.

"You were in an accident, so we had to bring you here," she replied.

"How long do I have to stay here?" he asked.

"We're going to run some final tests and keep you over night, you should be able to go home in the morning," the doctor explained.

Reid nodded his head slowly and JJ smiled comfortingly at him.

The next day, Reid was released from the hospital as the doctor said. JJ drove him home after Garcia said she would watch Henry for the day so Reid could be used to everything again. Pulling up to the house, Reid just stared. "This is where I live?" he asked.

"Where we live actually," she replied.

He looked at her surprised before she got out of the car and went around the other side to help him out. JJ watched as he went towards the house, going inside.

She was watching as Reid was looking around their house, looking at all the pictures on the wall. "So…you and I live together?" he asked.

"Yea," she replied as she hung his bag up on the door.

"Are we together?" he asked curiously, looking at her.

Clearing her throat, she felt her cheeks flush. "Um no, no we're only good friends," she replied. She saw disappointment appear in his brown eyes at her words.

"So two friends that live together," he commented.

"Yes," she replied.

Nodding his head slowly, he walked around when he noticed all the toys on the floor. "We have a kid though?" he asked.

"Well, he's my little boy, you're his godfather, we moved in here so you can help me with him," she replied.

He was silent as he grabbed a toy dinosaur off the floor. "What's his name?" he asked.

"Henry," she replied.

"Will I be seeing Henry?" He asked.

"Later, he's only four so he won't quite understand why you won't recognize him," she replied.

Reid put the toy on the coffee table as he started exploring more of the house. "Here's your room," she told him, opening the door. She watched as he looked around.

"I have a lot of books," he commented, noticing the pile of books on the floor that didn't fit in the shelves.

"Yeah, Henry likes to pretend your books are like a mountain he tries to climb," she replied, laughing a little.

He laughed a little as he looked around, he couldn't help but see that it was a little bland, no pictures on the walls like he had seen in the living room or in the hall. "Do I not have a lot of family?" he asked.

"You have your mom," she replied.

"How come she's not here?" he asked.

JJ frowned a little, how could she explain to this man that his mother was a paranoid schizophrenic? "She's sick right now, so she's in the hospital back in Vegas where you're from," she replied simply.

"And my dad?" he asked.

"You haven't had a good relationship with him for a long time," she replied.

He couldn't help but frown, this room was quite depressing. "Am I not a fun person or something?" he asked.

"No, you're a lot of fun, Spence," she assured him.

Making his way by her, she let out a deep breath as he kept looking around their house. He came to another room and stopped. "Your room?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Do you mind?" he asked.

She shook her head slowly as he went in and looked around. He saw case files and her laptop out on the desk in the corner. Like the other rooms, there were pictures everywhere. "If you don't mind me asking…where's Henry's dad?" he asked. JJ frowned and leaned against the wall.

"Henry's father…Will…he was killed to keep Henry and me protected," she replied.

Reid looked at her, sadness showing on his face. "I'm very sorry," he murmured. She gave him a sad smile and before she knew it, he walked over and hugged her gently. She hugged him just as carefully back, not wanting to hurt him.

As he held her, he could feel his heart beating uncontrollably in his chest, especially when the smell of her shampoo filled his nose. Wait, was he in love with this woman? This woman who said was his friend? He couldn't remember, was it possible they had dated once but she didn't want to talk about it? How did they even become this close of friends? From the way it looked she was a gorgeous, intelligent young woman and he was just the nerd with a room filled with books. So many questions whirled in his head and it forced him to let her go. "You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, um…I'm just tired it's been quite a day," he commented.

She nodded her head slowly. "Yeah, why don't you get some rest? Henry will be home in a couple of hours," she answered. Nodding his head, he walked by her and went into his room.

He slowly sat down on the bed feeling his fractured ribs pinch and made him wince in pain. He reached into his bag and pulled out the bottle of painkillers the doctor had prescribed him. Just as he went to open the bottle, he suddenly stopped, staring at the pills instead. For some reason something in his head was screaming at him not to take the pills. They were just painkillers, just to get rid of the pain so he could sleep at night.

Putting the bottle back into the bag by his bed, he lied back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He was so exhausted, but yet he couldn't seem to relax enough to sleep. So many questions were swimming in his head. It was quite crazy; he couldn't quite grasp anything around him. His world was spinning so fast it actually made his stomach turn. He closed his eyes and tried to get some rest at least.

In the living room, JJ was cleaning up the toys when the door opened. "Mommy!" Henry said happily, running to his mother.

"Hey little man," she said smiling, embracing her son when he reached her.

"Is Unca Pence home?" he asked.

Garcia smiled as she put her purse down. "Yes, but he's taking a nap so we have to be very quiet okay?" JJ asked. Henry nodded and he held up a picture.

"I dwawed him a pictaw," he told her.

"He wouldn't play any games today, he insisted on making his picture," Garcia said smiling.

JJ smiled as she looked at the picture. "Well, I'm sure Uncle Spence will love it," she told her son. The little boy beamed, he couldn't wait to see his Uncle Spencer.

When it came time for supper, JJ knocked on the door. "Spence, dinner is ready," she called to him.

"I'll be there," he answered.

Reid walked out of the room to find a little bit sitting in his chair. "Unca Spence!" he said smiling. Reid kind of just stared at the little boy.

"Hi…Henry," he said slowly.

"You gots a owie?" Henry asked, pointing to his head where Reid still had the bandage around his head.

"Yeah, I got an owie," he replied.

Reid knew he had to at least pretend that he remembered the little boy. "Mama can I show Unca Spence?" he asked.

"After dinner buddy," JJ replied.

Reid walked over and sat down, staring at his plate. JJ rested her hand on his shoulder before she sat down.

After dinner, Reid was helping JJ clean up when Henry ran up. He tugged on his shirt, getting his godfather to look at him. "Heaw," the boy said smiling, handing him his drawing.

"Wow, thanks Henry," he commented.

He crouched down beside the boy. "What's in the picture?" he asked.

"Me, mama, and oo," he replied, pointing to the figures in the picture.

"What are you and mama doing?" Reid asked.

"Soccaw," the boy replied excitedly.

"And what am I doing?" he asked.

"You awe watching," Henry replied.

"I am huh?" Reid asked smiling.

The little boy nodded and Reid sat down so he could climb into his lap. JJ was watching them with a smile. The connection Reid and Henry was still there. She just hoped that they could get the actual Reid back.


	3. Fears in the Dark

Chapter 3: Fears in the Dark

During the night, Reid was tossing and turning in his sleep. "JJ…JJ watch out, JJ!" he called out in his sleep. The door opened and JJ hurried into the room.

"Spence," she called to him making her way to his bed.

"JJ!" he shouted, sitting up in bed.

She jumped back with a gasp. "Spence, it's ok, I'm right here," she assured him as he lied back on the bed, trying to catch his breath. She touched his forehead softly. "It was just a dream," she murmured.

"Yeah…a dream…" he replied.

He swallowed hard. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked. His forehead wrinkled.

"Tall grass…at least I think it was grass…" he replied, "I was running and I could hear you scream."

JJ frowned a little, she knew this was no dream. He was having a memory, probably the worse memory of them all. The day their relationship had changed forever. "Yeah…it was just a dream," he murmured, "I didn't mean to wake you." He turned on his side to try to go back to sleep. JJ bit her lower lip before she got up and left him alone to try to sleep.

When he heard the door close, he let out a deep breath. The fear was so real…hearing her scream and her gun going off. He could hear someone talking to him, but he couldn't see the person's face. Closing his eyes, he slowly drift off to sleep again.

The next day, Henry was on the floor playing with his dinosaurs when Reid walked over to him. "Hey, Henry, mind if I play?" he asked. The little boy looked at him surprised.

"Pway T-Wex?" he asked, holding the toy up.

Reid smiled as he slowly sat down on the floor, making the toys move across the floor. "You silly Unca Pence," the little boy said smiling.

"I am huh?" he asked.

The four-year-old nodded with a smile. "He calls everyone silly," JJ commented as she walked in.

"Wanna pway mama?" Henry asked.

"Not today buddy, I have to go to work," JJ replied.

She walked over, kissing the top of her son's head. "Where do I work?" Reid asked. JJ looked at him.

"You work at the FBI with me," she replied.

He furrowed his brow. "I'm an FBI agent?" he asked.

"Yes, you are Agent Dr. Spencer Reid," she replied.

Reid just sat there on the floor. "Don't worry about working, you're on medical leave," she assured him.

"So…what do we do?" he asked.

"We have to think like the criminals we are searching for," she replied.

He just stared at her and JJ let out a deep breath. "Sounds like difficult work," he commented.

"It can be," she replied, lifting her son up into her arms.

Henry smiled as he started playing with his mother's hair. "You know what, I'm going to call in today," she told him as she sat down with her son in her arms.

"JJ, you need to work," he told her.

"Yeah, and you're recovering, I'm going to stay and help you," she answered.

"Don't, I'm fine," he insisted.

She shook her head slowly with a small smile before she grabbed her phone to let Hotch know that she wasn't going to be able to make it in. Reid watched as she got up and went into the kitchen to get Henry his snack. He was still sitting on the floor, looking at the toys in front of him. Standing up, he looked at the pictures of him, JJ, and Henry that were sitting on the mantelpiece. There was one picture in particular that caught his eye. He picked it up and looked at it.

Henry couldn't be more than a few months old, it looked like his christening because of the way he was all dressed up in white clothes and they were standing in a Church. JJ was cradling Henry in her arms, Will was standing behind her as they were both looking at their son with adoring eyes. He could see himself in the picture with another woman, whom he didn't recognize. He could see the smile on his face, but it was the sad look in his eyes that caught his attention. "That still seems to be the picture you like the most," JJ commented as Henry ran to his room.

"I do?" he asked.

"I catch you looking at it once in awhile," she replied smiling.

Reid gave her a small smile. "Who is this?" he asked, pointing to the woman standing beside him.

"That is Penelope Garcia, she's our Technical Analyst at work, as well as one of our close friends," she replied.

Reid stared at the picture before placing it up on the mantelpiece again. As he was walking his head began to throb.

_**He saw himself standing in a field, looking around. He could hear two voices arguing with each other. Then he suddenly heard JJ scream followed by gunfire. Feeling his heart race, he ran through the field. "JJ!" he shouted. Suddenly, someone punched him in the face, sending him to the ground. He went to grab his gun when someone else grabbed it and held it up at him.**_

Reid opened his eyes and saw that he was now sitting on the floor again with JJ in front of him. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah…just saw flashes, that's all," he replied as he slowly stood up with her help.

Reid looked at her and JJ stared at him quizzically. "What is it Spence?" she asked. He shook his head slowly.

"It's nothing, I'm fine really," he assured her.

She helped him stand up and he let out a deep breath. "Do you need anything?" she asked.

"No…I think I'm okay," he replied.

"You sure?" she asked.

He nodded his head slowly. "Yeah, I think I just need some air," he replied. She watched as he went outside before she could say anything.

Walking outside, Reid sat out on the porch, staring out at the superb he lived in with JJ and Henry. Getting up, he walked over to the mailbox that sat out front, staring at the address that sat on the side. "Hey, Dr. Reid," a voice called out. Looking up, he saw an older man across the street, waving. Hesitantly, he waved back, giving the man a polite smile. Letting out a deep breath, he pressed his fingers against his throbbing head.

Back inside, JJ was watching as he was roaming their front yard, trying to see if anything seemed familiar to him. Sighing, she rubbed the back of her neck as she wished there was a way she could fix this. She had no idea of what to say for whenever he started to remember the more intense parts of his life. Such as Tobias Hankel, just the thought of it sent chills down her spine.

Not only did she fear of what he would remember job wise, she worried a bit about how he would react to the way his personal life had become when he remembered. Nothing could ever be the same for him, he would never be the Reid they all remembered. Right now he was nothing like the Reid that they remembered, the only part that was intact was his curious side. She continued to stand there, waiting for him to show any signs that he needed her or for when he came back in.

Sitting down, Reid pushed one of Henry's toys across the ground as he sat there in confusion. The more confused he became, the more irritated he was becoming. He dragged his fingers through his hair, letting out a frustrated sigh. His doctor told him not to push it, to let the memories to come back on their own. If he were to force it, he could remember things too fast and the last thing they needed was for him to have a nervous breakdown over certain memories. The longer he sat there though; he couldn't help but wonder what was so awful that people were afraid of him to rush his memories. It almost frightened him at the idea that he could have a deep dark secret. Did he want to remember everything?

Looking over his shoulder, he saw JJ watching him out the window and he looked back at the ground. "Do I want to remember?" he murmured to himself as he pushed the toy car across the ground again.

**Author's Note: Sorry for the delay everyone, I swear this just has to be my luck lol. As soon as I had posted chapter 2 my hard drive crashed, so now I'm back all the way to the beginning to the story. I hope you all like it. Please review and thanks for your support so far.**

**Arwennicole**


	4. Partial Memories

Chapter 4: Partial Memories

A month had passed since Reid was released from the hospital. With his memory the way it was, they believed it was safer he stayed away from the BAU until he was ready for the stress of the job again. It was becoming apparent that the younger agent was getting quite antsy with the fact he wasn't even able to work.

He slowly got into a routine, he really enjoyed playing with Henry. He adored the little boy, it wasn't hard to believe this little boy was very much loved by everyone.

One day, JJ was standing in the kitchen, watching as Reid was playing with Henry. She leaned against the wall, lowering her head a little as one of her favorite memories came across her mind. A memory she hoped Reid would remember one day soon.

_ Reid was helping JJ out of the car when they got back from the football game. "I'm really, really sorry, JJ, for dumping the drinks on you," he told her._

_"Spence, it's fine, really," she assured him, laughing a little._

_ His face was flushed with embarrassment as he escorted her to the front door. "Want to com in?" she asked, looking back at him._

_"Um…is that…is that appropriate?" he asked._

_"Spence, just get in the house," she told him, rolling her eyes with a grin as she walked inside._

_ Reid went inside and JJ removed her jacket, hanging it up before she took Reid's jacket, hanging it up. "Make yourself comfortable, I'm just going to change my shirt," she told him. _

_ She went upstairs and changed out of her Redskins Jersey, tossing it into the hamper. Making her way over to her drawer, she grabbed her tank top, pulling it on, followed but a button down shirt, but she kept the buttons undone._

_ Walking down the stairs, she saw that Reid was still sitting nervously on her couch. "Would you like anything?" she asked._

_"Coffee?" he asked, looking at her._

_"Sure," she replied smiling._

_ She made the coffee and came back, handing him his cup before she sat down beside him. "No phone calls from the BAU that's rare," he commented._

_"Yeah, I think everyone's making sure this goes through," she commented._

_ They sat in silence for awhile and Reid got up. "I should go home," he murmured. JJ put her own cup on the table, standing up._

_"Spence," she called to him as he walked to the door._

_"Yeah," he replied._

_ Just as he turned around, she pressed her lips to his._

JJ was jolted out of her own memories when she felt a tug on her pants. She looked down to see Henry by her feet. "Mommy, snack time?" he asked. She looked at the clock, laughing when she realized her son was right on time for his snack.

"Yep, it's snack time buddy," she replied, lifting him up and putting him in the chair.

Henry smiled as he started eating his animal crackers. Reid was standing by the door, watching. He suddenly felt a slight tug on his heart. JJ looked up at him and their eyes locked for a second. Reid gave her a small smile, but then he left.

Walking outside, Reid was walking down the street, having no idea that someone pulled up beside him. "Hey kid," a voice called out. He looked up to see a man sitting in a black SUV.

"Morgan…right?" Reid asked hesitantly.

"Yep, where are you off to?" Morgan asked.

"A walk…I need to clear my head," he replied.

Morgan looked at him before opening the passenger's side door. "Hop in kid," he told him. Reid looked at him for a second. "Trust me, come on," Morgan insisted. Walking over to the other side of the SUV, Reid climbed in and Morgan drove off.

"Aren't you guys supposed to be on a case?" Reid asked.

"We just finished it yesterday, thought I'd check on you and JJ," Morgan replied.

"JJ's ok," Reid told him.

"What about you?" Morgan asked.

Reid sat in his seat, staring out the window. "I have no memory of anything, just these flashes of things…it's very annoying," he replied.

"I know it is, kid, I get it," Morgan told him.

"No…you don't," Reid answered.

Morgan glanced at him as he turned another corner. "The doctor had told JJ and you guys not to deviate me from my usual routine, isn't keeping me at home doing that?" he asked.

"Reid, with our job, we need everyone with a straight head. We can't have someone who doesn't even have any memory of his life on the job out there, it's too much of a risk," Morgan replied.

"How can I remember anything though if I'm not at work? The way it sounds like, that's where I spent most of my time," Reid insisted.

Morgan let out a deep breath. "I don't like this, I don't, it's not a good idea," he answered.

"I'm going to go to the BAU whether you want me to or not," Reid commented.

Morgan let out a sigh, shaking his head slowly. "Alright kid," he answered, "But just to look around, not to do anything else." Reid nodded before Morgan drove him to the BAU.

Arriving at their floor, Reid looked around curiously. "Reid…" a voice said surprised and he saw a group of people standing around their desks.

"I thought you had strict orders to stay away from here?" the man he believed to be Hotch commented.

"I'm just looking around, see if anything looks familiar," Reid replied.

The team looked at each other as he walked over to his desk. What was interesting was there weren't any pictures on his desk like the rest of the team. It was quite empty, except for the files that were scattered everywhere. "Anything look familiar?" Morgan asked. Shaking his head slowly, he looked through the files, but then he felt everyone's eyes on him.

Looking up, he saw everyone staring at him. "I don't think my memory's going to come back with everyone staring at me," he commented.

"Sorry, Reid, we're just…we're trying to cope with this too," the woman…Emily, he thought her name was, said as she sat on her desk.

Reid frowned as he sat on his desk, looking at his computer to see that it was just as plain as everything else he had seen. "Am I really this boring?" he asked.

"No, kid, you're far from a boring person," Morgan answered.

"There's nothing here, no pictures of any family. My room's the same way, nothing, just nothing," he told them.

He was suddenly very frustrated. "Maybe I don't even want to remember if I'm really this way," he told them.

"Reid, you're not a boring person, trust us," Morgan insisted.

Reid started going through his desk. He opened the bottom drawer to find a bunch of cards and letters, torn up little pieces of paper even. Picking up one scrap, he turned it over.

_Miss one on one time with you, lunch in my office today?_

_-JJ_

Reid started going through the other little scraps of paper. They were all almost identical to the ones he just read. They were just little messages, something that was written quickly and they were even wrinkled up a little.

_ Reid was sitting at his desk going through a case file when he felt something hit him on the back of his head. Looking over his shoulder, he saw a little ball of paper sitting by his foot. Reaching down, he opened the note. _

**_My cards this time, I swear you cheat just so we're at your house. This time it will be my turn to pick the movie._**

**_~JJ_**

_ Reid looked over at the direction the paper was thrown to see JJ going up the stairs towards her office with a grin._

Reid was still staring at the scraps of papers in his hands. "What are those?" Emily asked. Looking up, he dropped them back in the drawer.

"Nothing, just science notes," he answered, closing the drawer.

Standing up, he rubbed his head. "Um, I want to go home," he told Morgan. Nodding, Morgan got up from his chair.

"Sure, kid, come on," he answered as they left the BAU.

Sitting in the SUV, Reid was staring outside. "Nothing triggered a memory?" Morgan asked.

"No," he lied.

He glanced at Morgan. "Morgan, was there anything between…JJ and me?" he asked. Morgan glanced at him before he turned another corner.

"You two have always been close," Morgan replied.

"But nothing more than friends?" Reid asked.

"I shouldn't be telling you this, you're supposed to remember on your own," Morgan answered.

"I'm telling you to tell me," Reid insisted.

Morgan glanced at him again. "Reid, all I know is you guys went out on one date, just one, it was never spoken of, in fact when I asked you, you said it was "confidential". You guys were only friends after that," he explained. Sitting back in silence, Reid rubbed his forehead, he still wasn't convinced.

When they got back, JJ walked out of the house, relieved to see that he was alright. "Have fun at work?" she asked. Reid looked at Morgan who held up his cell phone.

"Yeah, I was just trying to see if I can remember anything," he replied.

"Did you remember anything?" she asked.

Stopping in front of her, he just stared for a second, thinking of the memory he had about the notes in his drawer. "You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, tired," he replied, walking by her.

JJ watched him go inside and looked back at Morgan. "He's far from happy, he just doesn't see how he was a happy guy before he lost his memory," he told her. JJ let out a sigh.

"Well, we'll have to prove that he's a big part of this team," she answered before Morgan nodded and they went their separate ways.


	5. Wanting Clues

Chapter 5: Wanting Clues

Reid was sitting in the backyard, watching Henry play with his toys. "Unca Pence, wanna pway?" he asked.

"Sure," Reid replied as he got up and walked over.

The little boy placed a triceratops into his lap. "You fight wif him," the four-year-old instructed him. Henry sat up on his knees as he made his stegosaurus walk on the grass.

"What are they fighting about?" Reid asked as he made his triceratops bump the other dinosaur's side.

"He's the bad guy," Henry replied in the matter of fact tone.

"He is huh?" he asked.

Henry nodded but then he giggled as Reid grabbed the T-Rex. "I would've thought he'd be the bad guy," he commented. He pulled Henry up and started tickling the little boy, smiling as the four-year-old started laughing up a storm.

JJ stood by the door watching them with a smile.

That night, Reid was asleep, this time it wasn't a nightmare. Except, what he was dreaming of he wouldn't be sure if it was a dream or a memory.

_ Reid walked down the hall with files in his hand. Knocking on the door, he waited patiently until JJ opened her office door up. "Hey, JJ, I was just looking over everything for the last case and I was wondering if you had a copy of…" he started._

_"Did you really walk all the way over here at 11:00 at night to talk to me about paperwork?" she asked._

_"Why else would I be here?" He asked._

_ JJ rolled her eyes as she reached up, grabbing his tie. "For a genius, you're naïve," she said with a grin as she walked backwards into her office, pulling him with her. Taking the files, he put them on the chair by the door before closing the door behind him. "I haven't seen my boyfriend in three weeks and all I get is a request for paperwork," She told him with a grin as she wrapped her arms around his waist._

_"Okay, I get your point," he answered._

_"Good," She said with a smile._

_ Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to her lips. She happily kissed him back, moving her arms up around his neck. "Before we go any further, have you read the note I gave you?" he asked._

_"Not yet," She replied as she started undoing the tie around his neck, "I can read it later."_

_"Um, could you read it now?" he asked._

_ She gave him a quizzical look before picking up the piece of scrap paper that sat on her desk. Opening it up, she raised her brow to him. "Magic? Now?" she asked._

_"Trust me, you'll like this trick," he answered with a grin._

_ He took the paper from her hand and he wrinkled it up into a ball. When it disappeared from his hand, she just leaned back against her desk. "Alright, where's the note now?" she asked._

_"I think I know," he answered, reaching behind her ear._

_ Except, when he pulled his hand back, it wasn't the little ball of paper, it was a ring. With a flick of his hand, he handed her what she thought was the original note. As she opened it back up, she saw that the words were different._

**_JJ, will you marry me?_**

_ Looking in front of her, she saw Reid on one knee holding out the ring. She stared at him with wide eyes, but then nodded with a bright smile. "Yes," she replied, hugging him tight. He hugged her back, letting out a sigh of relief._

Reid woke up to the sound of Henry giggling up a storm. Sitting up, he rubbed his forehead. Getting a little frustrated, he got out of bed and went to find JJ.

JJ was in the kitchen, giving Henry waffles when Reid came in. "Hey, Spence, hungry?" she asked, smiling.

"No, but um, can I talk to you?" he asked.

"Sure," She replied.

She let Henry eat his breakfast and they went outside. "You okay?" she asked.

"No, I'm irritate," he answered.

JJ frowned. "I know it's hard since you're having such a hard time with not being able to remember anything," she told him.

"Yeah, and didn't my doctor tell you not to lie to me?" he answered.

JJ looked at him quizzically. "I haven't lied to you," she told him.

"Were we ever together?" he asked, "Because for the last month I've done nothing but have these dreams about you."

JJ just stared at him. "I…" she started, "We've always been good friends."

"Yeah? And I think we were something more once and you won't tell me," he answered.

She frowned, looking at him. "What? Was it that awful to be with a person like me you don't want me to remember?" he demanded.

"No! No, I have never been ashamed," she answered.

"Then why is everyone lying?" he asked.

"Because to them they aren't lying, they can't admit to things if they don't know," she answered.

Reid stared at her. "Why won't you guys just be honest with me?!" he exclaimed.

"We're not allowed to tell you anything!" she answered.

"Well I need to be told!" he snapped.

He walked by her and went into the house. JJ ran her hands over her face and let out a deep breath.

Reid walked into the house, closing the door behind him. "Why awe you and mommy fighting?" Henry asked. Reid looked at the little boy.

"We just didn't agree on something," he replied.

Henry got up and ran over to Reid, hugging him around his legs. "Don't go away Uncle Pence," he insisted, "Mama smiles when you here."

"She does huh? "he asked.

He crouched down in front of the little boy. "Uncle Spence and mama were just fighting because I'm not happy that my memories are hiding," he explained to the little boy. Henry pointed to the now healed spot on his head.

"Because of the owie?" Henry asked innocently.

"Yeah, because of the owie I got on my head," Reid replied, touching the side of his head.

Henry looked at him. "Mommy was sad when you were away," Henry told him.

"She was huh?" Reid asked.

The little boy nodded. Reid hugged his godson, rubbing his back before looking at the picture of JJ, Will, and a newborn Henry on the wall.

_ He found JJ sitting in one of the plastic hospital chairs, holding Will's bloodied shirt and badge in her lap. "JJ," he called to her. Looking up, he saw the tears falling down her face._

_"He…He refused to take them to our house," She said with tears falling own her face._

_ Reid walked over to her. "He died to make sure Henry would be safe," she said, crying softly._

_"Come here," he murmured, pulling her up._

_ JJ stood up and hugged him tightly as tears fell down her face and fell onto his neck. He rubbed her back lightly as she cried against him. "You saved Henry's life too," he murmured._

_"So did you," she answered, "I can never thank you enough for protecting him."_

_"Well, Rossi shot the guy, all I did was try to keep him from strangling me," he told her._

_"God, Spence, can't you just once agree that you were a hero too?" she asked, smiling a little._

_ Reid just continued to rub her back. "What am I going to do, Spence?" she asked after a minute, "How am I going to tell Henry that Will's never coming home?"_

_"Just tell him that his father was the bravest man in the world who tried to keep two bad guys from trying to come to the house to hurt him," Reid explained._

_ JJ kept her had on his shoulder with tears still falling down her face._

Reid looked over at JJ to see her sitting on the patio chairs. "You gonna say 'sowwy'?" Henry asked. Chuckling, he rested his hand on the top of the little boy's head.

"I'll go talk to your mama," he answered.

Going back outside, he walked over to JJ. "JJ," he called. Looking up, she let out a sigh.

"Look, Spence…" she started.

"Wait before you keep going," he answered.

He pulled up a chair and sat down beside her. "I want to say I'm sorry," he told her. He let out a deep breath. "I just don't know what to do," he added. Reaching over, she gripped his hand in hers.

"All I can say, Spence, is yes we were more than friends at one point during our time at the BAU, but that's all I can say," she answered.

"Not even why we aren't together anymore?" he asked.

"It's complicated, and it's something I doubt you're ready to handle yet," she replied.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked, "Was it Will?"

JJ shook her head slowly. "Will came into my life long after our breakup," she assured him, "And no, you never hurt me. You are the kindest, sweetest man in the world." Reid looked at the ground an JJ pulled him into a hug. He hugged her back, letting out a deep breath.


	6. Nightmares

Chapter 6: The Nightmares

Another month passed, Reid was tossing back and forth in his sleep. Instead of the pleasant dreams/memories he had for the last two months, nightmares were plaguing his dreams.

_ Reid was trying his hardest to pull free from the binds on his wrists. His eyes grew wide when the faceless kidnapper walked over to him with a syringe. "No, please, I don't want it! I don't want it!" he begged as the man tied a belt around his arm._

_"Trust me, it'll help," the person insisted as the needle sunk into his arm._

Reid sat up in his bed, his heart racing in his chest. Letting out a shaky breath, he sat up against the wall, dragging his fingers through his hair. Suddenly, his door flew open and Henry ran in. "Unca Pence! Unca Pence!" he called out excitedly, climbing up on his bed.

"Hey, Henry," he said smiling, "Bright and early today huh?"

The little boy nodded beaming. "Mommy went to wowk," Henry told him.

"So, I guess it's the two of us today?" he asked.

Henry nodded, beaming. "What are we going to do today?" he asked.

"Occer!" the boy replied, beaming.

Reid started laughing as Henry started pulling on his arm. "Come on," he insisted.

"Alright, alright, let me get dressed," he answered.

Henry got up and ran out of the room so Reid could shower and change. Going over to his closet, he tried to find something that wasn't just khakis and button down work shirts. Settling for a pair of khakis and a short sleeve button down shirt, Reid pulled on a pair of his mismatched socks an then his sneakers before grabbing his glasses that were sitting on the nightstand before he went outside.

Henry was kicking the soccer ball with a big grin on his face. "Yay! Unca Pence," he said with a big grin.

"Here I am," he answered smiling.

Henry kicked the ball to him and Reid kicked it back to him. He watched with a smile as Henry ran around the front yard with the ball. Sitting down on the steps, he leaned forward a little as his mind started to drift. The little boy giggled, running up to his godfather. "Come play!" he insisted, pulling on his hand.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," he said smiling as he got off the steps to play with his godson.

Back at the BAU, JJ was sitting in her office, letting out a deep breath. She rubbed her forehead, she found herself unable to concentrate on the cases at hand at all. She glanced over at the picture that was on her desk. She tapped her pen on her desk before reaching for her phone, dialing Reid's cell phone number. "Hello," he answered after a few minutes.

"Hey, how's it going?" she asked.

"We're doing alright, Henry's in the kitchen having a snack and I'm cleaning up Legos," he replied.

JJ smiled, leaning forward a little. "He's not causing too much trouble is he?" She asked.

"Nah, he's been a good kid, a little tuckered out so I am foreseeing a nap here soon," he replied.

Letting out a sigh, she tapped her fingers on her desk. "Listen, Spence, I'm going to have to leave with the team for a couple of days on a case, think you can handle it?" she asked.

"Yep, I'm getting the hang of watching Henry, we'll be fine," he replied.

"You know you can call if you need anything," she assured him.

"I'm sure I can manage," Reid assured her.

"Unca Pence! I done!" the boy announced.

"Well, I think it's time for a nap, talk to you later," Reid told JJ.

"Talk to you later," she answered, hanging up.

She ran her hands over her face, letting out a deep breath. She was nervous about leaving Reid home alone with Henry. "Hey, you okay?" Emily asked. JJ looked at her.

"I thought you're supposed to go back to Interpol?" she asked.

"I think you guys need me more at the moment," Emily answered.

JJ swallowed hard, letting out a deep breath. "Reid just keeps asking me questions and I'm just not sure how to answer them," she murmured, wiping a stray tear from her face. Emily walked over, resting her hand on her shoulder. "I don't know how to handle any of this," she said with tears falling down her face, "It's like I have a stranger in my house because it's not the same Spencer Reid."

"He'll come back, it'll take time," Emily answered.

Letting out a shaky breath, the blond woman sat back in her seat as she tried to keep herself from crying her eyes out. "I don't know, at the same time there are memories I don't want him to remember. I just wish he'd remember all the good times, and never have to remember the bad ones," she told Emily, "Just to know that there's good and I'm scared that if he remembers the bad memories, we'll lose him more because of all the bad."

"Hey, give Reid some credit here, he's probably one of the strongest guys on this team," Emily pointed out.

"It's so different though, you don't see him when he's trying to get things to connect in his head again. To try to remember every piece of his life that Whitmore took from him," JJ answered, "It's heartbreaking to watch."

Emily gave her shoulder another squeeze. "Reid's a smart guy, he'll know what to do when the time comes," she assured her.

"I hope so, Em, because at this point, I'm terrified of what he'll remember while I'm away," JJ answered.

Back at the house, Reid was putting dishes into the dishwasher before he went to check on Henry. The little boy was fast asleep in his bed, his favorite stuffed dog under his arm. He walked over, touching the boy's hair lightly.

_ Walking into the hospital room, he saw everyone was passing the newborn baby around. "How is it I've been through fifteen hours of labor and you look worse than I do?" JJ asked, laughing a little._

_"Don't be ridiculous, you look beautiful," Reid answered smiling at her._

_ There was an awkward silence in the room. "Well, I can sure use some coffee," Will commented. The team started leaving the room and JJ was cradling baby Henry in her arms._

_"You okay?" she asked as Reid walked over to the bed._

_"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay, you?" He asked._

_"Yeah, I'm okay, but there's just something I wanted to ask you, but it can wait," JJ replied._

_ Reid furrowed his brow. "What is it?" he asked._

_"Will and I were talking and…um…we want you to be Henry's godfather," JJ replied, giving him a smile._

_ Reid felt his heart flutter at the smile she was giving him and the fact that she wanted him to be Henry's godfather. "I don't even know…I don't know…" he stuttered out._

_"Do you want to hold him?" JJ asked, smiling._

_"I…" he started as she placed the baby in his arms._

_"It's okay, watch his head," JJ told him as he held the baby._

_"Hi, hello, Henry," He said smiling._

_"If anything were to happen to us it'd be up to you and Garcia to make sure he goes to Yale," JJ said smiling._

_ Glancing at her, he looked back at the baby. "Yale, do you want to go to Yale Henry? That was your godfather's safety school. Don't worry I can get you into CalTech with one phone call," He told the baby, smiling._

Coming out of the memory, Reid looked at the sleeping child and smiled a little. Walking out of the room, he felt a sharp pain hit his head, almost sending him to the wall. Leaning against the wall, he held his head, wincing in pain.

_He was watching a recording of some sort, he didn't recognize the man on the screen who was talking to him. "Think you can defy me?" the man in front of him snapped._

_"I don't know what he's talking about," Reid insisted fearfully._

_"You're a liar!" he snapped._

_ Suddenly, he grabbed Reid's arm, revealing the syringe scars on his arm. "You're pitiful! Just like my son!" he snapped, throwing his arm back down. He turned on a camera and looked back at Reid. "This ends now! Confess your sins," he ordered. Reid didn't answer and suddenly his kidnapper was punching him in the head. "Confess!" he demanded._

_"I haven't done anything!" Reid insisted._

_ Another punch landed on his face. "Tobias, help me," he called out._

_"He can't help you! He's weak!" the man snapped, "Confess!"_

_"Tobias!" Reid called out._

_ He grabbed Reid by his hair. "Confess your sins," he snarled._

_"No," Reid got out._

_ The man grabbed his chair, throwing him to the floor. He suddenly realized he couldn't breathe. Oh God! Oh God he couldn't breathe! He gasped for air, struggling to get air into his lungs. "That's the devil vacating your body," his kidnapper snapped. Air! He needed air! As he saw a light, he saw JJ's face._

_"**JJ…**" were his final thoughts before darkness took him._

Snapping out of the memory, Reid realized he was sitting on the floor gasping for air. His heart was racing in his chest and his whole body was shaking. Letting out a shaky breath, he got up and ran into the nearest bathroom feeling sick to his stomach. What kind of memory was that?!

Sitting down on the edge of the bathtub, he put his head in his hands as he was slowly regaining his composure. The last thing he needed was Henry coming in to seeing him in a full-blown panic. Taking several deep breaths, he felt everything begin to calm down a little. Immediately, he pulled his sleeve up, but he didn't see any scars staring back at him. "Unca Pence?" Henry called out. Looking up, he saw his godson there. "I'm hungy," He told him.

"You are huh? Well, we better fix that shouldn't we?" Reid said with a smile.

Getting up, he picked Henry up and went into the kitchen.


	7. A Simple Connection

Chapter 7: A Simple Connection

The next night, Reid woke up with a gasp, having had another nightmare about this man that was either beating him or injecting him with drugs. Looking at his arm, he tried to find any sort of scar on his arms, but he didn't see anything. Leaning back against his headboard, he closed his eyes and started dozing off again.

_Reid saw himself sitting in a bar with the team. They were talking, laughing, enjoying themselves. Some of them were having beers while he just had a simple glass of brandy in his hand. JJ was smiling at him. "Hey, pretty boy, why don't you go out there and dance with some of those pretty ladies that are checking you out?" Morgan asked, bumping his shoulder._

_ Giving his friend a quizzical look, he pushed his hair from his eyes. "No, I think I'll pass," he answered._

_"What genius knows everything but know how to dance?" Morgan teased._

_"No, just not interested," Reid replied._

_ JJ just smiled at him before she drank the rest of the beer in her and. "I'll be back," she told the team before she got up and went to the bar. Reid quickly drained the rest of the drink in his hand before he got up and went to get a refill._

_ Walking up behind her, he tapped her lightly on the shoulder. He watched as she looked over her shoulder at him with a grin. "What's up, Spence?" she asked._

_"Um…would you like to dance?" he asked._

_ JJ smiled as she put her unopened bottle back on the bar. "Sure," she said smiling as he took her hand. Just then, JJ looked at the radio and smiled. "I love this song," she commented as 'Every Day I Love You' started playing and the two of them were able to blend into the crowd of people. She had her arm around his back, her cheek resting against his shoulder. He hand their clasped hands held against his chest while his other arm was around her back and his cheek was resting against the top of her head. _

_"I think they might get suspicious," he commented._

_"Let them," she answered smiling._

_ Smelling her sweet perfume, he let out a deep breath as he closed his eyes._

Reid woke up, suddenly feeling like his heart was tugging a little. Sitting up in his bed, he he heard the door open and closed and he got out of bed, seeing Henry run to the door. "Mommy!" Henry said beaming, leaping into JJ's arms. JJ lifted her son up with a smile.

"Hey buddy, did you have fun with Uncle Spence?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied.

Reid stepped out of the room and closed the door. He needed time to himself, today was a bad day.

JJ looked towards the door to see that Reid hadn't come out of his room. "Uncle Spence still sleeping?" she asked Henry.

"I dunno," he replied.

She lifted her son up into her arms, kissing his forehead as she went to get him something to eat.

A few hours passed and JJ walked over to Reid's door, knocking softly. "Spence?" she called. When she didn't receive an answer, she opened the door to find him sitting by his window, staring outside, watching Henry play with the neighbor kids. "Spence," she called to him. Looking over, she saw that his eyes were incredibly sad. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Just a bad day, Jayje," he replied.

Walking over, she sat beside him and reached over, holding his hand. "I want you to tell me things, JJ, there's things that I need to know and we don't know if I can get them back myself," he told her. She moved her thumb over his knuckles.

"I know," she answered.

He let out a deep breath. "Do I have any family?" he asked, looking at her. She nodded her head slowly.

"Your mom," she replied, "The team."

"Where's my mom? Does she know that I've been hurt? Does she even care?" He asked.

JJ felt tears well up in her eyes. "Your mom's a pretty sick woman, Reid…mentally sick," she answered. Reid stared at her for a second and then he sat there.

"My mom's mentally ill…" he murmured.

She nodded her head slowly, feeling him grip his hand. "Does she even know?" he asked.

"You never wanted to relay messages such as this to your mom," she replied, "You didn't want her to worry."

"Do I keep any sort of contact with her?" he asked.

JJ nodded again. "You write her letters," she replied. She watched as his bottom lip trembled.

"I write to her…" he murmured.

"I've been keeping phone calls with her to let her know you're okay," She assured him.

He let out a deep breath. "She has to know something's wrong," he answered, "A mother knows these things." Suddenly, a face appeared in his mind, a woman with blond hair and blue eyes.

_ Reid saw himself sitting at a table, a Scrabble game was in front of him. "Mom…I have a few questions about dad…I'm uh…I'm having trouble remembering," he told her._

_"What do you want to know?" she asked._

_"Did he like to be around children?" Reid asked._

_ His mother looked at him. "Children? Well yes…if it were up to him you'd have a house full of brothers and sisters," she replied._

_"So…you didn't want any kids," he commented._

_"Why mess with perfection?" she asked, winking at him._

Reid stared at the wall. "Spence…you okay?" she asked. Reid glanced at her.

"I need to go see my mom," he replied.

JJ stared at him, knowing that he really did need to see her. "Alright, we'll go with you," she told him. She got up to get a go bag ready and Reid got up to throw his things together.

The flight to Vegas was long, especially for Reid. He was anxious to see his mother, he was worried about what the team could've told her. "Did you guys contact her at all?" he asked.

"I did, I told her that you were sick," she replied.

"What did she say?" Reid asked.

JJ stroked Henry's hair as he slept with his head on her arm. "She was kind of out of it that day, Spence," she replied, "She has those moments." Reid frowned, looking out his window.

When they finally landed in Vegas, they checked into a hotel and Reid immediately wanted to go to the hospital to see his mother. "Reid, just keep in mind she might not understand," JJ told him.

"I want her to see that I'm okay," he answered.

After checking in, JJ was holding Henry, who was playing with his Transformers. "Your mom's right over there," the orderly told him smiling, "She'll be so happy to see you." Giving her a soft smile, he thanked the woman before going into he room. He saw his mother sitting in a chair, looking out the window. Walking over slowly, he let out a deep breath.

"Mom?" he called out.

Diana looked up and JJ saw the relief in the woman's face. "Spencer, you are okay," she said smiling as she stood up. Reaching out, she hugged her son tightly. "Those fascists wouldn't tell me anything whenever I called," she muttered as she held onto him.

"Sorry mom, I've been sick so I didn't want them to worry you," he answered.

"A mother knows when something's wrong with her child," Diana told him, letting him go.

She looked at her so, frowning. "You're so thin," she said with a sigh. Reid gave her a small smirk. "The only time I could relax was when your girlfriend kept updates for me," she added. Reid looked over at JJ who was still standing there with a small smile. "Hello, Jennifer," Diana greeted.

"Hi, Mrs. Reid," she answered.

The woman rolled her eyes. "It's just Diana, Jennifer, how many times must I remind you?" she asked. JJ gave her a small smile.

"Sorry," she answered.

Henry smiled as he wriggled out of his mother's arms. "Hi," he greeted smiling.

"Well, hello Henry, my are you a big boy," Diana said smiling as she sat down.

Reid looked over at JJ quizzically. "We came here for Diana's birthday," she said quietly. Looking back at Dian, the woman smiled as she lifted Henry up into her lap.

"How about a story, hmm?" Diana asked smiling.

"Yeah," the boy said beaming.

Reid sat down in front of his mother, smiling as his mother started reading to the little boy. Henry was mesmerized with the paintings in the old book and JJ stood behind Reid, resting her hand on his shoulder. Reaching behind him, Reid rested his hand over her hand. "Thank you," he whispered.

"Anytime, Spence, anytime," she answered.


	8. A Stalker

Chapter 8: A Stalker

A week later, Reid was still visiting his mother, trying to figure it out what to do with himself. He was sitting at the table with his mother playing scrabble. "Spencer, how long are you going to sit here and hide from the real world?" Diana asked.

"I'm not sure mom," he replied.

Diana raised her eyebrow. "You should've left with your girlfriend," she insisted.

"Mom…I'm just not sure what to do," he answered.

"What's the matter baby?" she asked.

Reid let out a deep breath. "Mom…have you ever had it where you just can't seem to remember a thing?" he asked.

"Honey, that's something I deal with every day," Diana replied.

He grinned a little. "Mom…I…I can't remember anything…nothing about my life," He told her. Diana's eyes grew wide.

"I knew something was wrong," she answered.

Reid stared at his mother quizzically. "Honey, I've told you time and again, a mother knows," She insisted.

"What if my memory doesn't come back mom?" Reid asked.

Diana got up and walked over to her son, touching the sides of his head. "Your mind is so extraordinary, your mind will help you," she said smiling.

"You say that because you're my mom," he answered, smirking a little.

"I say that, honey, because you are my 187 IQ genius son," Diana told him, sitting across from him.

Reid stared at her. "Mom, how are you so calm with this?" he asked.

"Probably all the drugs in my system," Diana replied, "It probably won't hit me until later."

Reid lowered his eyes to the table, letting out a deep breath. "Spencer, you need to go home," Diana told her son.

"I can't," he answered, "I just can't."

Diana raised her brow at her son. "Yes you can, honey. JJ needs you there," she told him before an orderly came over to tell them that lunch was ready.

Back in Virginia, JJ was sitting in the backyard, watching Henry play around. "Mommy, when Unca Pence coming home?" he asked.

"He's just visiting his mommy for awhile, he should be home soon," JJ replied.

JJ gave him a small smile as her son walked over and wrapped his arms around her neck. She hugged him back, rubbing his back lightly.

That night, it was girls' night out, one of the last nights before Emily had to go back to Interpol. "How are things going with you guys?" Garcia asked JJ as they got their drinks.

"It's hard, because you can see he's trying so hard to remember his own life," JJ replied.

Garcia wrapped her arm around her shoulders. "How's Henry doing with everything?" Emily asked.

"He understands like a four almost five-year-old wound understand," she replied.

She let out a deep breath. "God…five…has it really been that long?" she murmured.

"Yep, the kid's growing up fast," Emily commented.

JJ gave her friend a small smile as she stared into her untouched beer. She suddenly didn't feel like drinking and pushed it back from her. "He keeps asking for Spence…I don't know if he's going to come home so how do I tell my son that the person who he's seeing as his father figure might not come back?" she asked.

"Reid will come back, he's just trying to find answers," Garcia pointed out.

"It's just hard you know? I mean, this is like a totally different person. He usually figures things out in an instant, but now he can't even remember what his life was like seven almost eight years ago," She replied.

JJ ran her hand over her face; she felt like part another part of her world was gone. First she lost Will and now Reid wasn't even the same person they all knew. Sighing, she gave her friends a smile before they tried to continue to have fun on their ladies' night.

When she got home, JJ immediately felt like something was out of place. "Monica?" she called for the babysitter. Furrowing her brow, she flipped the lights on and off, but nothing turned on. Making her way over to her gun case, she unlocked it and made sure her gun was loaded and ready before going through the halls of the house.

Reaching Henry's room, she pushed the door open to see Henry fast asleep in his bed. Feeling relieved, her eyes started scanning the dark house and held her flashlight up. "Monica?" she called again. Before she had time to react, someone grabbed the back of her head and slammed it into the wall.

Letting out a groan of pain, she tried to shake the fuzziness from her head, reaching for her gun, but the intruder stepped on her wrists and then kicked her in the stomach. Crying out in pan, she tried to kick out when the person grabbed her legs, pinning them to the floor. "No!" she hissed, throwing a fist, but she suddenly felt something graze her midsection, her eyes grew wide when he pinned her arms to the floor when he had her distracted long enough.

"Listen here, Agent Jareau, just be lucky it's just a cut!" the intruder snapped.

She tried to head butt him, however she felt the knife cut into her shoulder making her cry out in pain a little. "Stay off my ass, don't try to find me because trust me, I can obviously find you," he snarled. JJ's eyes grew wide when she recognized the voice, Charles Whitmore. "Are you going to stop struggling, because I can go right in that room where baby boy is," he snapped.

"You touch my son I swear to God…" she started.

She gasped when she felt the knife against her throat. "Sounds like you were about to get personal there," he said with a sneer, even though she couldn't even see his face. Charles kept the knife pressed to her throat. "I see why Dr. Reid liked you so much," he commented as he took the tip of the blade, just lightly dragging it down the front of her blouse. She struggled, trying to buck him off, but it only made him laugh. "Honey, that won't do anything but turn me on," he told her, smirking behind his mask.

"Where's Monica?" she demanded.

"She's sleeping," he answered with a dark chuckle.

JJ struggled harder when Charles slammed her head into the floor, making her head spin again. "Here's a little message for your precious, Dr. Reid," he told her as a punch landed on her face and everything went black.

Reid sighed as he got out of the taxi, paying the driver before he drove off. Looking at the house, he pushed his hair from his eyes as he walked up the steps and went to open the door when he realized it was cracked. Frowning, he pushed the door open. "JJ?" he called out. He flipped the light switch and the lights turned on. Before he had time to react, a young woman ran up to him with fear in her eyes.

"I didn't even see him! I didn't even get to a phone!" she said panicked.

He couldn't even ask her anything, she just grabbed his arm and pulled him down the hall. "I came to and I found this!" she said hysterically. Reid's eyes when he found JJ unconscious on the floor. She was bruised and bloodied, her blouse was cut open a little and there was something in her hand.

"Call the ambulance!" He told the girl as he ran over to JJ.

"I did they're coming," she answered crying.

Reid looked over to see Henry starting to wake him up. "Keep Henry out of here," he told her before he looked back at JJ, "JJ, JJ can you hear me?" He tried to see if she had any broken bones when he opened her hand to see that it was a note. Taking it out of her hand, he read what was written inside.

_How does it feel?_

That was all that was written on the note. Hearing her groan in pain snapped Reid out of his confusion and went right back to her. "JJ, JJ can you hear me?" he asked.

"He was here…" she groaned out as she tried to sit up.

"No, no, no stay down, you could have a concussion," he answered.

Taking off his jacket, he covered her up a little. "Spence…" she got out.

"I'm here," he assured her, holding her hand, "I'm right here just hold onto my hand."

JJ gripped his hand tightly as she tried to fight to stay conscious. "Henry…" she murmured.

"He's fine, he's just fine, Monica's with him," he assured her.

Trying ton concentrate, JJ looked into Reid's face. So many emotions were rushing through her at that very moment, but the only dominate emotion that was taking control of her at that moment was fear. "He's coming…" was all she said before darkness claimed her again.


	9. Surprising Turns

Chapter 9: Surprising Turns

JJ woke up to the sound of a heart monitor beeping and her vision was blurred. Blinking her eyes a few times, it began to clear a little and looked around. She saw Reid sleeping beside her bed with his head by her legs and his hand was over hers. "Spence…" she whispered. Waking up, he saw that she was awake and was relieved.

"JJ," he murmured as he stood up.

"What happened?" she asked, trying to remember.

Reid stared at her, entwining his fingers with hers. "I was hoping you'd tell me," he answered. JJ stared at him for a second, but then flashes of Charles Whitmore's attack on her flooded her memory.

"Henry…oh my God…Henry!" she gasped as she went to sit up.

"He's fine, he's safe. He's at Hotch's house playing with his son," Reid assured her.

Feeling relieved, she lied back on her pillows, with a shaky breath. "I didn't even hear him coming…he was so quite," she whispered.

"Did he say anything?" he asked.

"Just taunts…the usual, but that this was supposed to be a message for you," she replied.

Reid pulled his chair up, looking at her. "JJ…this guy…did he have anything to do with why my memory it is the way it is?" he asked. JJ looked at him, holding onto his hand.

"Yeah," she replied after a minute.

Staring at her, it then flashed in his head, seeing Charles Whitmore's grin and then the bomb above their heads. He remembered calling out JJ's name before he pushed her to the floor and then darkness. There was one thing he did remember, something that he heard every night before he went to sleep. "_Come on, Spence, come on stay with me. Stay with me!_" He looked at JJ with wide eyes.

"I remember, I remember holding you down on the floor, covering you so you weren't hurt, I remember hearing your voice as you were waiting for help," he told her.

JJ looked at him with a sad smile, holding his hand even tighter. "I couldn't lose you too," she whispered.

"Not after you just lost Will, and I promised you I'd never leave," he told her without thinking.

She nodded her had slowly. "You're remembering," she answered.

"Slowly but surely," he answered, kissing her forehead while resting his hand on the side of her neck.

She wrapped her arm around his arm, letting out a deep breath. Reid rested his forehead against the top of her head as they just sat in silence for the longest time. He moved to sit on her bed and she wrapped her arms tightly around him. He held onto her as he moved and she just curled up into his side. He lightly ran his thumb over her arm, careful not to dislodge the IV in her arm. Pulling back, his brown eyes locked with her blue eyes and they just stared each other for the longest time. "Spence, could you just stay here?" she asked.

"Of course," he replied.

He moved beside her and she rested her head on his chest. As they were both resting in her hospital bed, Reid's mind began to drift.

_ They were in the middle of a field, a man was holding a young man by axe point. "Travis James, FBI, put the weapon down!" Morgan demanded._

_"Get back!" Travis answered._

_"Can't do that Travis!" Morgan ordered._

_"I said get back! You hard of hearin or something?!" Travis snapped._

_ Reid was watching the young man struggle in the unsub's grasp. "Just let Shawn go and we can work this out!" Morgan insisted._

_"That's his name you know! He has a little brother too! We know you saw them together when you attacked them!" JJ called out over the wind._

_"Just get back please!" Travis begged._

_"Travis, Tucker wouldn't want this! He would want to protect you like he did with Rosco Gulch!" Reid called out._

_"THAT BASTARD WAS GUILTY!" Travis shouted._

_"Just let him go and we can help you!" JJ called out._

_ Travis held the axe closer to the boy's head. "WE DON'T NEED YOUR HELP!" he shouted. Reid heard something shatter and looked up to see a tornado heading in their direction._

_"Okay! We need to get to cover now!" Beasley called out to the agents._

_ Reid looked over at JJ who looked right back at him. "Come on man! Put the weapon down!" Morgan ordered. Travis dropped the axe and then grabbed the wrapped up body behind him and ran towards the tornado. Reid ran over to the young man, pulling the duct tape off his mouth as Morgan took the bindings off his wrists and ankles. Helping the boy up, they went over to the nearby tornado shelter. He looked over his shoulder to see JJ and Morgan still in the storm's path._

_"JJ! MORGAN!" he called out as JJ pulled Morgan toward the shelter._

_ As Beasley opened the door, Reid placed his hand in the middle of JJ's back when her hand reached out behind her and gripped his as they hurried down the shelter stairs. Moving up against the wall, JJ's hand was still gripping his tightly and he looked at her as he was trying to catch his breath. _

Reid opened his eyes, looking down at JJ to see her fast asleep and he noticed that Henry was now behind her with his little arms wrapped around his mommy's waist. Smiling, he touched the top of the little boy's head as exhaustion started to reclaim him.

_ It looked like it was the same memory, but only later. He was getting ready for bed when there was a knock on his door and he walked over to it. "Yea?" he asked._

_"It's JJ," the person answered._

_ Opening the door, he saw JJ standing there, her eyes were red-rimmed. "What's wrong? Is it Henry?" he asked._

_"No, no, Henry's fine," she replied._

_"What's wrong?" he asked._

_ She shook her head slowly. "I'm just happy that Henry's okay," she answered. Knowing how worried she was about Henry's fever and the seizure he had, Reid pulled her into a hug and she hugged him tightly back. Just then, the power went out and he tightened his hold on her. "Still afraid of the dark?" she asked._

_"I'm working on it," he replied._

_ She laughed a little. "Well, I'm not going to make it back to my room," she replied._

_"Well it's late, we need to get some sleep," he told her._

_ She held onto his hand, laughing as he was leading her blindly through the dark. He found the edge of the bed and went to sit down when he realized he wasn't on fully and he fell on the floor. "You okay?" she asked, trying not to laugh._

_"Yep, I'm good," he replied trying to sound smooth._

_ JJ was giggling as she grabbed his arm and pulled him up on the bed. Once they were up on the bed, she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder. "Thank you," she murmured._

_"What for?" he asked._

_"For just being here," she replied._

_ Reid hugged her close. "I'm always here," he assured her, "Always."_

JJ was awake and she was watching Reid sleep. Reaching up, she pushed the hair from his eyes with a soft smile. "Mommy," Henry said tiredly. She looked at her son with a smile.

"Hey buddy," she cooed softly, stroking his hair.

"You coming home soon mommy?" he asked.

"In a couple of days," she replied, "Mommy has lots of owies the doctor needs to take care of."

Henry frowned. "Story time mommy," he insisted. JJ smiled as she stroked his hair, reciting the words to their favorite bedtime story.

**(One Month Later)**

JJ was fast asleep when the door flew open and Henry ran in. "MOMMY! MOMMY!" he shouted, jumping on the bed. JJ woke up with a grin.

"It's the birthday boy," she said with a grin.

"I five!" he said beaming, holding out his hand.

"Yes you are," JJ replied.

Henry beamed. "Where's your uncle?" she asked.

"Talking to someone," Henry replied.

JJ furrowed her brow in confusion. "Someone?" she asked. Henry nodded his head and JJ got up, getting dressed before she went downstairs with Henry on her hip.

Walking down the stairs, she saw Reid sitting on the couch with someone sitting across from them and their back was to her. "Spence?" she called, "Who's here?" Suddenly the person turned around and her eyes grew wide.

"Hello, JJ," the person greeted.

"Gideon…" she said surprised.


	10. The Unwanted Memories

Chapter 10: The Unwanted Memories

Reid was looking at JJ, the man looked familiar to him, but yet his memory made it difficult. "Reid, do you remember who this is?" JJ asked.

"He told me that he was a friend of ours, he doesn't seem much of a threat," Reid replied.

"You're right, he's not," JJ commented.

Henry was staring at the older man and waved his hand. "Hi," he greeted.

"Hi there again," Gideon greeted.

"It my birfday," Henry said beaming.

"Well happy birthday," Gideon said smiling, "How old are you?"

Henry held up his hand. "That's a good age," Gideon commented. JJ kissed her son's cheek.

"Henry, mama's going to make you birthday waffles and then can you go upstairs to play?" she asked.

Henry nodded and JJ carried him into the kitchen. "Yours and JJ's?" Gideon asked, looking at Reid.

"No, we're just friends living together," Reid replied, "Henry's father was killed in action about ten months ago."

"I'm sorry to hear about JJ's husband," Gideon commented, "And I hear you haven't been doing too well yourself."

"I'm doing fine," Reid replied, "Just trying to get my head together."

"I gather that, let's see if you can remember much of this," Gideon commented.

Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a small chess board and started setting the game up. "White or black, Spencer?" he asked.

"Um white," Reid replied.

Gideon turned the board around so the white pieces were facing Reid. "We played chess?" he asked.

"Did we?" Gideon asked, looking at the young man across from him.

Reid moved a pawn forward and Gideon moved his piece forward. "How many paces do you look ahead of the game?" Gideon asked after a few minutes.

"Look ahead?" Reid asked.

"Yes, how many paces do you look ahead in a chess game?" Gideon asked.

Reid stared at the game and they went back and forth for four turns before Gideon sat back. "Checkmate," he told the baffled young man.

"W—What?" he asked, looking at the board.

"Try again?" Gideon asked.

"Absolutely," Reid replied as Gideon put the board back together.

JJ was getting Henry's party together when she looked through the sliding glass door to see Reid and Gideon in a second round of chess. "Can you believe Gideon's back? After he just left the way he did?" Morgan asked.

"If anything can help Spence's memory back, it'd be Gideon," JJ replied as she hung up some more balloons.

Later on, an hour before the party was supposed to start, JJ walked into the living room to see Reid getting frustrated with the game. "Gideon, I think you should stop," she suggested

"How is he going to learn if he quits?" Gideon asked, not looking up.

"He has amnesia, this isn't like he's a kid quitting a baseball game," JJ answered.

"He's not going to regain any of his memory with all of you treating him like a child," Gideon stated.

JJ gave the man a glare. "We don't treat him like a child!" she answered.

"Then why isn't he at least observing the team on the field?" Gideon asked as Reid moved another piece forward.

"That's not my call," JJ answered, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Hotch would ask for an evaluation from you, why haven't you given Hotch any reason to let Reid back on the field?" Gideon asked.

"Medically, he's not cleared to even fly," JJ answered.

"So have him cleared, he has amnesia, don't think that would affect flying," Hotch told her.

While they were arguing, Reid's head suddenly started to hurt. Suddenly, several flashes whipped through his head.

_ Him and Gideon on a plane and he saw himself holding tickets to a game. "The only person in the whole world who calls you 'Spence'," Gideon told the young man. He glanced over his shoulder at JJ who was reading the newspaper._

_ There as a flash and he was seeing Gideon's face on a computer screen. "Reid, if you are watching this, this is not your fault, you understand me? This s not your fault," he insisted_

_ The memory flashed to Gideon sitting across from Reid. "I'm struggling," Reid told the older man._

_"I know," Gideon answered._

_ The next memory flashed to him sitting at a desk with a badge and a gun in front of him while there was a letter in his hands._

Reid stood up, holding his head. "Spence?" JJ called, grabbing his arm lightly.

"Make it stop!" he exclaimed, 'It hurts!"

JJ's eyes grew wide. "Spence, come on, look at me," she insisted.

"Don't try to snap him out of it," Gideon told her.

"He's in pain!" JJ answered.

"He's remembering, he only thinks he's in pain," Gideon told her.

Reid let out a shaky breath as he kept holding his head.

_ He was in a shed, a dark dimly lit shed. Looking in front of him, he saw a man kneeling by his chair. Reid was suddenly aware that the man was tying a belt around his arm and there was a syringe in his hands. "No, please, I don't want it, I don't want it," Reid begged._

_"Trust me, it'll help," the man told him as the needle sunk into his skin._

Snapping his eyes open, Reid grabbed at his sleeves. "I don't want it, I don't want help," he muttered under his breath.

"Spence, it's okay," JJ told him.

"I don't want it!" he exclaimed.

JJ had tears in her eyes as Morgan suddenly grabbed Reid's arms, holding onto him so he wouldn't hurt himself. "I don't want it!" he exclaimed.

"It's okay, kid, you're alright," Morgan insisted.

Reid was struggling against his hold, but Morgan refused to let him go. "Reid, relax," he told him. JJ had tears in her eyes as she watched him remember one of the most traumatic experiences of his life.

"I don't want to choose," he murmured with tears in his eyes, he wasn't talking to anyone in the room.

Suddenly, Henry ran into the room. "Mommy," he called. JJ turned around and picked her son up into her arms.

"Hey, let's go outside and play with your friends," she told the now five-year-old, taking him outside.

"Gideon have you lost your mind?! He's now having a meltdown with a bunch of little kids outside!" Morgan snapped.

"Would you rather him having this melt down in the middle of a mall or an airport?" Gideon asked.

Reid was starting to calm down and they could tell. His eyes weren't glassy and his face wasn't so sickly pale. "Spence, come on, Spence, come back," JJ told him as she walked back over to them.

"I remember Tobias," he said suddenly, unshed tears showing in his eyes, "I remember what happened."

JJ swallowed hard as she pulled him into a hug and she looked at Gideon. "This is why he can't come back to work yet, he's still having these moments," She told him, "He'd be an easy target for an unsub!'

"Then find more triggers to bring his memory back, don't treat him like he's glass. He's still the same Spencer Reid, just the one we know is locked in that head somewhere and you need to help him get him out," Gideon explained.

"The rest of the team want to help him, why do you just keep looking at me?" JJ asked.

"Because it wasn't the other team's names that he called out while he was in the hospital after the Hankel case," Gideon replied.

Reid let out a shaky breath, closing his eyes.

_ Reid's vision was blurry. He had no idea where he was. "JJ?" he called out. His heart started racing in his chest. "JJ!" he called out, he could hear rapid beeping by his head._

_"I'm here, Spence, I'm here," he heard JJ say, turning the lights to his room on._

_ Making her way to him, she smiled softly as she moved her fingers through his hair. "Don't leave," he said quietly._

_"Never," she answered._

_ Leaning forward, she brushed her lips over his and he reached up, resting his hand against the side of her neck. Pulling her close, he wrapped his arms around her while she made sure that she wouldn't pull any of the needles out of him. "I love you," he whispered as exhaustion started taking over. He felt her fingers trace over his wrist._

_"I love you too, forever," she answered as she rested her head on his chest._

_ Reid closed his eyes as he fell asleep._

Opening his eyes, he saw JJ staring at him. "What happened to forever?" he asked as he got up.

"Spence?" she asked, standing up as he went outside.

Walking outside, he smiled as Henry ran over to him. "Unca Pence, come play!" he said excitedly, pulling him over to the little games. Glancing at JJ, he went to play with his godson while his question left unanswered and leaving JJ confused.


	11. Missing Pieces to a Broken Heart

Chapter 11: Missing Pieces of a Broken Heart

A few days after the party, Reid was withdrawn. All he wanted to do was just try to figure out his own life without anyone else's input. He also wanted to know why JJ's promise of 'forever' was broken.

Sitting outside, Reid was staring out into the distance when Henry walked over, climbing up onto the swing he was sitting on. "Unca Pence, are you mad at mommy?" He asked.

"Why would I be mad at your mommy?" he asked, sitting back.

"You're always sad," the little boy replied, resting his head on his shoulder.

Sighing, Reid wrapped his arm lightly around the little boy. "I'm not mad at your mommy, Henry. I'm just…you know how he has an owie on his head?" he asked. Henry nodded his head slowly. "Well, you know how when you make a whoops on your picture you erase it?" he asked.

"Yeah," Henry replied.

"Well, because of the owie on my head, my head erased my memories," he told the little boy.

The little boy stared before he stood up on the bench. Leaning forward, the little boy pressed a kiss to his head. "Kisses make owies bettaw," Henry told him. Reid gave the boy a smile.

"Well my head does feel a lot better thank you," He answered smiling, pulling the little boy into his lap just as another small memory formed in his head.

**_ Reid walked into an apartment, setting his keys on the table by the door. "Hey," JJ said smiling. She walked quickly over to him, hugging him tight. Reid hugged her back, rubbing her back. He held her close, as if she were going to disappear right in front of him. "Morgan told me you took down the unsub without firing a single shot," she commented._**

**_"Yeah, I didn't want anyone else getting hurt," he answered._**

**_ JJ pulled back, stroking his cheek lightly. "Hey, what's the matter?" she asked, noticing the upset look in his eyes._**

**_"I betrayed you," he answered._**

**_ She gave him a quizzical look. "What are you talking about?" she asked._**

**_"I…did Morgan tell you what happened in the pool?" he asked._**

**_"No," she replied._**

**_ He let out a deep breath, swallowing hard. "Lila and I kissed in the pool, she kissed me though I didn't want to kiss her," he told her._**

**_"Did you kiss her back?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest._**

**_"No, no, I didn't," He insisted._**

**_ Reid was looking very guilt ridden. "I didn't kiss her back, she just wouldn't stop kissing me," he added. JJ stared at him._**

**_"Well, I should go to her and tell her you're mine," she commented, tugging on his tie._**

**_ Reid's face flushed, making her smile. "You are mine, Spencer Reid," she added._**

**_"I wouldn't have it any other way," he answered, giving her a small smile._**

Reid let out a sigh as he carried Henry inside. He found JJ in the kitchen, going over some files for another case. He put Henry down for his nap before he went into the kitchen. "JJ," he murmured, making her look up.

"Hey, Spence," she answered.

"Mind if I sit down?" he asked.

"Go ahead," she replied, gesturing to the chair.

Reid pulled up the chair and looked at her. "I want to come back to the team," he stated. When she looked at him, he could see the stunned look on her face.

"Spence…" she started.

"I need to know, I need to see what I actually do," he answered.

Sighing, she knew she couldn't keep him from the BAU, she knew he had to see what he actually did. "Alright, let me call the neighbor and we'll go," she told him as she stood up. Reid watched her leave the room and got up to get ready for work.

When they arrived at the BAU, JJ and Reid were standing silently in the elevator. As s they were waiting for it to stop, JJ suddenly reached over and held his hand in hers. He glanced at her surprised, but then the doors opened and she dropped his hand. "Reid…" Morgan said surprised to see him there.

"Come on, Spence, you need to talk to Hotch," JJ murmured.

Taking his arm gently, she led him up the stairs towards Hotch's office.

When they sat down, Hotch looked at them once Reid explained everything. "You realize that this could bring back some really difficult memories," Hotch commented.

"How much more difficult can it be after remembering I was tied to a chair and drugged?" Reid asked, staring right at him.

There was an awkward silence in the room. "You've seen a lot of horrible things, Reid, a lot of things that people don't even want to imagine in their dreams. Are you willing to take that chance?" he asked.

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't willing to take the chance," he replied.

Nodding his head slowly, Hotch reached into his drawer, pulling out Reid's credentials, setting them on the desk. "When you come on cases, you are to stay at the police station where we work on these cases. You are _not_ allowed anywhere near the field. If I catch you on the field, I will send you back to Quantico on the first plane out, do you understand?" he said firmly.

"Yes, sir," Reid answered.

Hotch placed his badge in front of Reid and he picked his badge up, staring at it. "Get ready for the briefing," the older man stated as JJ stood up, placing her hand on his shoulder. Reid looked up before he stood up and followed her out of the room.

Sitting in the conference room, he was staring at the closed file in front of him. "Thirty-year-old Mallory Daniels disappeared from her home over twelve hours ago. She's the fifth woman to disappear in the last month," JJ explained.

"Not much of a cooling off period," Morgan commented.

"Other victims?" Hotch asked.

"LeAnn Harris, Brittany August, Jessie Miller, and Samantha Lee, all thirty, they were all missing for forty-eight hours and then they were found strangled and left in cars," JJ explained.

"Not their cars though," Rossi commented.

Reid opened the file slowly, staring at all the pictures of the other victims, swallowing hard. "Forensics say there were inked fingerprints on the victims eyelids," Morgan commented.

"He closed the eyes once they were dead, shows remorse," Hotch answered.

"They ran the fingerprints through the computers, came up with nothing," Garcia stated.

"He's taunting the police at the same time 'Here are my prints, but you'll never find me'," Rossie put in.

Hotch stood up. "We're heading to Nashville, wheels up in 30," he told the team as he got up. JJ saw the dazed look in Reid's eyes.

"Spence, you sure you can do this?" she asked.

He glanced at her before nodding his head slowly. "Yeah," he replied. Resting her hand on his shoulder, they stood there for a second.

"Come on," she said softly.

Getting up, Reid grabbed his bag and followed her out of the office.

As he grabbed his go-bag, he suddenly saw flashes of the many, many times he did this routine. Listened in on a case, gave his view, and then would go to the jet. JJ looked at Reid, giving him a comforting smile. He smiled a little back at her before he followed her to get to the jet. "Is this bringing back anything?" she asked.

"Flashes," he replied.

Reaching over, he held her hand tightly. She gave his hand a tight squeeze to reassure him that she was right there and she wasn't leaving him alone with this.

**_ Reid was grabbing his go bag when JJ walked over to her. "Spence, can we talk?" she asked._**

**_"Don't have time, we have to get to this case," he told her_**

**_ His heart was racing in his chest and his stomach was cramping a little. "We need to talk about last night," she insisted._**

**_"Now is not the time," he insisted._**

**_"You never make time to talk so this is the only time we can," she answered._**

**_ Feeling nothing but anger rip through him, he looked at her with a glare. "What do we need to talk about? Hm? Want to talk about Tobias Hankel? No thank you," he told her angrily._**

**_"Spence, the doctor told you that you need to talk about it," she answered._**

**_"You know, what Jennifer?! Just drop it!" he said angrily, "Why do you care? You should've been there to help!"_**

**_ He saw her eyes grow wide. "I wanted to go with you," She told him._**

**_"You should've followed me like you wanted to," he answered, "Instead I was held in that hell for two days!"_**

**_"You told me before it wasn't my fault," she said quietly._**

**_"Well, I was wrong," he answered, "I don't think this can work."_**

**_ Immediately he saw tears well up in her eyes. "What are you talking about?" she asked._**

**_"We're DONE," he told her angrily._**

**_"You don't mean that," she answered._**

**_"No?" He asked._**

**_ He swung his bag over his shoulder and left her standing there._**

Reid stopped suddenly, forcing JJ to stop. "Spence?" she murmured, "You okay?" Looking at her, all he could do was think of the hurt look in her eyes.

"You told me I didn't hurt you," he answered.

"You didn't hurt me," she told him.

"Yes, I did, I blamed you," he answered.

Seeing the upset look in his eyes, she rested her hand on his chest. "Let's talk about this later, okay?" she told him. Letting out a deep breath, he nodded his head slowly before following her again.

**(Four Days Later)**

After days of trying to find their unsub, they found out he was a disgruntled man who was killing women who reminded him of his wife who left him and took all of his money. By the time they were back in the hotel, Reid was sitting alone in his room.

Sighing, he dragged his fingers through his hair. Hearing a knock on his door, he answered the door to find JJ there. "JJ…" he said surprised, "Is everything okay?"

"I came to talk to you," she replied.

She walked in and sat down on the bed. Reid closed the door and looked back at her. "What's going on?" he asked.

"I want you to know that you can't beat yourself up over what happened between us," she replied.

"But…" he started.

Standing up, she walked over and held his hands in hers. "Spence, it was a long time ago. You were quite a distraught, emotionally wounded person," she murmured.

"That's no excuse, I ruined the best thing that ever happened to me," he said suddenly.

JJ stared at him surprised. "I'm realizing something, JJ, something I don't think not even the explosion can take away," he murmured. He held onto her hands, letting out a deep breath.

"Spence?" she said lightly.

"I'm in love with you Jennifer Jareau," he admitted after a minute.

Before she could say anything, Reid took a step closer to her. "I've never stopped loving you, JJ, never," he told her.

"Spence…I…" she trailed off.

"I know…I understand…but I had to tell you," He said quietly.

JJ let out a deep breath. "I still have feelings for you, Spence, but you understand why things are difficult right now," She pointed out.

"I know," he answered, hugging her tightly.

She hugged him back, closing her eyes. "I'll wait forever for you, I have so far," he murmured. JJ smiled softly as they just stood in the middle of the room holding onto each other. It was going to be a step to a new life together, it would be slow, but it was a start.


	12. There is Good

Chapter 12: There is Good

Reid and JJ were sitting out on the front porch, watching as Henry was playing with the neighbor girl. "How's your head?" She asked.

"It's doing alright, at least the headaches are bearable," he answered as he reached over, holding her hand.

Smiling, she gave his hand a light squeeze before she sat back against the chair she was sitting in. "Any more flashbacks?" She asked.

"More flashes than anything, just images," he replied.

She gave him a soft smile, moving her thumb over his knuckles. He smiled back at her, holding her hand against his chest. Everything between them was going slow, it was just simple hand-holding and just quiet dinners that they try to do once a week. Even though with their job that was nearly impossible.

Reid looked at her again as he stood up. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"Going to order dinner, Chinese?" he asked.

"As long as you use the chopsticks," she answered.

He rolled his eyes. "That's like forging for food with two number two pencils," he muttered before going inside. JJ laughed, shaking her head slowly when Henry ran up.

"Mommy, look!" he exclaimed, holding up something.

JJ stared at what was in her son's hand, it was a yellow piece of paper. "Where did you get that?" she asked.

"Someone threw it," he replied simply.

Taking the paper, she opened it to reveal a note…it was for her.

_Hello Jennifer,_

_ I'm still here…I'm still watching_.

Feeling her throat constrict, she looked around. "Tiffany, Henry, let's go in," She told the children as she stood up.

Outside, Charles was watching with an evil sneer. He startled the agent, he knew she did. The look in her eye spoke it all. He liked watching her, he liked watching the fact he had control over her with two things, her son and Reid. Except, the thought of Dr. Reid made him want to retch right then and there in the middle of the street. He despised the man, he had hoped that he was killed from the blast, his true target.

He easily climbed the fence and scoffed, he would've thought with them being agents they would have a stronger security system. He was watching as JJ was getting the children to settle down when Dr. Reid came up behind her and kissed her cheek. She smiled at him, holding his hand tightly. They were talking, he couldn't make out the words but he was sure it was something along the lines of her telling him not to worry about anything dealing with her at that moment. He scoffed again, typical JJ, always thinking of others before herself. "You took away everything from me, Dr. Reid, soon…very soon…you will know how that feels," he muttered under his breath.

That night, Henry was put to bed and JJ walked into the living room to find Reid going through some photo albums. "Hey," she said, smiling softly. Reid looked over at her.

"Hey," he answered as she sat beside him.

She pushed her hair from her eyes, drawing a knee up to her chest. "Wow…look at that," she said smiling, noticing the pictures were of her first year on the team.

"I looked like a kid," he answered slowly.

JJ just smiled, kissing the side of his head as she wrapped her arms around his torso. "You are the youngest of our team," she pointed out. Reid ran his fingers over the pictures, going through all the newspaper clippings on the next few pages. "You saved articles to the cases we solved," she murmured.

Looking through the headlines, she smiled a little. They were all the successful ones that they saved people. As Reid was looking at the titles, his head started to drift slowly as memories started play through his head like a movie.

**_ Reid was walking to the room with his gun raised with a young woman behind him. She looked terrified, it was obvious they were searching for someone. "Why did you have to bring these people here?!" a voice snapped from behind. Reid turned around with his gun raised to see a woman holding a gun to Lila's head. "Put down the gun," She ordered._**

**_"Maggie…" Reid started._**

**_"Don't call me 'Maggie' you don't know me," She told the agent, "Come on, Lila, we have to go."_**

**_ She walked over to Lila. "We have to go, baby," she told the younger woman, touching her hair._**

**_"Don't hurt her, you don't have to hurt her," Reid answered._**

**_"You don't know anything, I would never do anything to hurt you. I created you," Maggie told Lila._**

**_ Lila shook her head slowly. "No you didn't…" She answered._**

**_"Yes. I. Did. I know I did. God! You stupid! Ungrateful! God! I can't believe that I loved you," Maggie exclaimed as she backed up with her gun in hand._**

**_"Maggie, s—she loves me now," Reid answered, thinking of something._**

**_ Maggie aimed her gun at him. "What?" she asked._**

**_"She told me so, we were in the pool, she kissed me, she loves me now ok?" Reid answered_**

**_"No!" Maggie exclaimed._**

**_"It's true," Reid answered._**

**_"NO!" Maggie exclaimed._**

**_ Reid looked at Lila with his hands raised. "Tell her we kissed in the pool," he insisted. Lila was silent as Maggie was becoming hysterical._**

**_"Yes we kissed," She finally admitted._**

**_"GOD!" Maggie screamed as she grabbed Lila and threw her to the floor, aiming her gun at Lila's head._**

**_ Reid too this chance and grabbed the woman from behind, wrestling the gun from her hands. Throwing Maggie to the floor, he was right in front of her with the gun aimed at her. "Don't move," he told her._**

**_"Please! Come on shoot me! Shoot me please! I'll be so much happier please! PLEASE!" Maggie exclaimed hysterically._**

**_ Reid was just silent, holding the gun up. "Come on," she insisted quietly. He shook his head slowly._**

**_"We're going to get you help," he told her, disarming the gun._**

**_ The woman started sobbing and Reid hushed her softly, resting his hand on the top of her head in the attempt to calm her._**

**(Flash)**

**_ Reid jumped out of his SUV, gun in hand and ran towards the house. Looking for his team, he held the gun up, going down the halls. He saw a closed door at the end. Swallowing hard, he suddenly remembered the nightmares he had been having._**

**_ Making his way towards the door, he unlocked it and pushed it open to find the missing little boy, Michael, standing in the middle of the room. "I've got Michael, I've got Michael," he told the team into his walkie on his wrist. Squatting down, he held his arms out to the little boy who happily ran over to him, hugging him tight. Reid hugged him back, stroking the little boy's hair before he got up and carried him out of the room._**

**(Flash)**

**_ Reid was sitting on the couch on the phone with Emily as they were discussing the LC signature the unsub was leaving on his notes. "What if the unsub was telling Barton that he was the target and it was going to leave his son without a father?" Reid asked. Hearing the front door opened, his eyes grew wide. "Barton!" he called out._**

**_ Getting off the couch, he ran towards the door. "DOCTOR!" he heard a man shout. Running at full speed at the doctor, he grabbed him and they both hit the ground when the man pulled the trigger. He felt a sharp pain in his leg and he could hear Emily call for him on the phone. _**

**_"Are you hit?" Reid asked, holding his bleeding leg._**

**_"No," Barton replied._**

**_"Get my gun, my gun," Reid insisted, reaching for his gun._**

**_"Get away from him!" the man called out._**

**_"Whatever you do, just stay down!" Reid ordered._**

**_"Don't protect him!" the man called out._**

**_ Reid held his gun up. "Drop the gun!" he called out._**

**_"HE KILLED MY SON!" the man shouted._**

**_"He did not kill your son, your son died in a car accident," Reid answered._**

**_"Stand up!" the man ordered._**

**_"I'm going to ask you one more to drop the gun, I don't want to shoot you so please drop the gun!" Reid insisted._**

**_"Stand up you coward!" the man ordered._**

**_ Reid stared at the broken man in front of him. "Mr. Meyers, listen to me, Dr. Barton did not kill your son. Your son was killed by a car and this isn't what he would want," he explained to the man. Mr. Meyers seemed to be contemplating Reid's words, but then he looked at the agent and the doctor._**

**_"I'm sorry," He answered._**

**_ Before he could pull the trigger, Reid fired first and injured the man. When Dr. Barton went to check Reid's leg, the agent shook his head. "No I'm fine, go to him, go to him," He insisted._**

**(Flash)**

**_ He saw himself with a little boy who seemed to be very autistic who suddenly grabbed his hand and placed it on the piano that was in front of them. They started playing a song that the little boy knew from memory._**

**(Flash)**

**_ Reid and Emily had ran into a room where a woman was strapped naked to a flatbed and was about to be lowered into a tub below. "Please help me! Please!" she called out sobbing._**

**_"I've got her," Reid told Emily as he hit the button to lower the bed to the floor while Emily covered the girl with her jacket._**

**_"We're going to get you out of here," Emily told her._**

**_"Thank you," The woman said sobbing hysterically. _**

**_ Reid quickly undid the straps, holding the woman down before he removed his own jacket, putting it around the woman as Emily helped her sit up. "Are you hurt?" Emily asked. The woman shook her head, still sobbing as the two agents helped her off the flatbed. Reid was able to locate her clothes and handed them to her so she could quickly get dressed again._**

**_"We need a medic in here," He called over his walkie._**

**(End Flashes)**

JJ saw that he was in quite a daze. "Spence?" she called lightly, touching his cheek.

"I've saved a lot of people, haven't I?" he asked.

JJ nodded her head slowly. "Yes you have, including me," she answered, rubbing his arms. Reid moved his fingers over hers.

"I love you," he murmured.

"I know," she answered softly.

Reid sighed as she sat beside him and the two of them stared at the photographs and articles that were in the photo album.


	13. Six Months Later

Chapter 13: Six Months Later

Reid woke up to the sun shining on his face, making him wince a little. "UNCLE SPENCE! UNCLE SPENCE!" Henry shouted, running into the room and jumping on the bed.

"Hey, Henry," Reid said smiling as the five-year-old hugged him tightly around the waist.

"Wake up! Wake up! You said we can go to the park with mommy," the little boy said anxiously.

Reid laughed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Henry, why don't you let Uncle Spence get up?" JJ asked as she walked into the room.

"But mommy…" Henry said with a slight pout.

"Eat your breakfast," JJ told the boy as she picked him up off the bed and had him leave the room.

Reid watched the boy run to the kitchen and JJ sat beside her boyfriend, smiling at him. "Morning," she said smiling.

"Forget an alarm clock, just have Henry run in here," he answered as he sat up, leaning against the headboard.

JJ laughed, pushing her hair from her eyes. "It's different to see you just getting up at 9," She commented.

"I don't normally?" he asked.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "You weren't much of a sleeper, Spence," she replied.

"I wasn't?" he asked.

"You would either wake up from nightmares or it'll be when you were half-asleep, you would suddenly get an epiphany of some sort about something which it would take me almost two hours to get you calm down again," she replied.

Reid stared at her, making her laugh a little as he was starting to remember something.

**_ Reid woke up with a start, looking at JJ. "You don't have to go in costume if you don't want," he told her._**

**_"What?" JJ asked, half-asleep.  
"Comic-Con, you don't have to dress up," he replied._**

**_ JJ opened her eyes and looked at the clock. "It is 4:45 in the morning and you want to talk about Comic-Con?" she asked._**

**_"Well it's in a week and I really, really want you to come with me," he replied._**

**_"Spence…" she sighed, resting her head back on her pillow._**

**_"Please? It'll be fun," He insisted._**

**_ She opened her eyes and she was looking at the anxious look on her face. "We are getting married in four months, usually that means we do things together," he added._**

**_"You're not using our upcoming nuptials to get me to go with you," she answered._**

**_"Please? Come on, it'll be fun, I'm telling you science fiction stories are deeper than what you see," he insisted._**

**_ She opened her eyes again as he kept rambling off why she should go to comic con with him. Before he could react, she suddenly pushed him down on the bed and straddled his sides. "JJ what are you doing?" he asked shocked._**

**_"I'm getting your attention," She answered._**

**_"Well…just saying my name like you normally do when I'm rambling would've sufficed," he commented._**

**_ She looked at him, resting her hands by his head. "Alright, if I go to one Comic Con with you, will you promise never to ask me to go again?" she asked._**

**_"I can attempt to try to get you to go again," he replied._**

**_"Alright how about this, if I agree to go will you let me get some sleep now?" she asked._**

**_"If you promise to go to Comic Con," he replied._**

**_ Rolling her eyes, she leaned forward, kissing him before he could start rambling again. "Fine, I'll go, but I'm not dressing up," she told him._**

**_"Fine," He answered before he initiated the next kiss._**

JJ just sat beside him, stroking his hair lightly. Whenever he started having flashbacks like this, he would just stay quiet as he tried to let the memory sink in. "We never did go to that Comic Con did we?" he asked after a minute. She shook her head slowly. "That was the week before we went to Georgia, wasn't it?" he asked.

"Yeah…it was," she replied softly.

The more he learned about this Tobias Hankel, the more frustrated he became. What he had leaner so far was this man was the core of what lead up to his breakup with JJ. "If it weren't for my stupid decision of separating, who knew what our lives would've been like," he muttered as he stared at the wall.

"I went along with it," She answered.

"I put you in danger," he told her.

JJ stared at him. "How much do you remember of that night?" she asked.

"I remember us going to Hankel's house…finding out he was the unsub we were looking for. I…I…I remember hearing you scream," he replied, his voice trailing off.

She moved her fingers through his hair as he got quiet again. "I remembering hearing you scream and then gunshots," he murmured, "What happened to you?"

"Hankel's dogs attacked me," she replied as she continued touching his head.

"You're worried about me, when you probably went through as much trauma as me," He commented.

She gave him a small smile. "You and Henry are more important to me than some past problems," she answered. Pressing a soft kiss to his temple, she got up from the bed. "Come on, we did promise Henry we'd go to the park," She told him.

"I'll be there," he assured her.

Watching her leave, Reid sat back against the headboard of the bed, running his hands over his face.

JJ was in the kitchen, fixing a snack for Henry for when they were at the park when Reid finally came out showered and dressed. "Hey, ready to go?" she asked.

"Yep," he replied smiling at her.

Henry ran over and Reid lifted him up so he sat on his side. "Ready, buddy?" he asked.

"Yeah!" Henry replied excitedly.

JJ smiled as she took their cooler filled with drinks and snacks before they went out to the car. Reid placed Henry into his car seat while JJ got everything else in.

When they arrived at the park, Henry immediately went off to play while the adults sat back to watch. Not too far away, Charles was watching them. He was disgusted with what he was seeing. He watched with a sneer as JJ's hand moved along Reid's chest to his waist when she stood up from putting the cooler down. Reid had removed a strand of hair from her face, giving her a soft smile.

They were so wrapped up in their rekindling relationship; it made this man want to get sick right there in the middle of the park. He wanted to destroy Reid, yet his plan backfired even more. Not only did he survive the explosion, but it was bringing him and the lovely Agent Jareau closer together.

His gut twisted in disgust as he watched as she wrapped her arms around his enemy's waist, resting her head on his chest as they were watching her son play on the monkey bars. He watched as Reid suddenly let her go and he ran over to an unsuspecting Henry. He lifted the boy up off the ground and placed him over his shoulder, tickling his stomach. The little boy was laughing hysterically, trying desperately to escape Reid's grasp. "Everything you have and love will be taken from you. Just as you stole everything from me," he muttered under his breath.

As Reid placed Henry back on the ground, he suddenly had the feeling he was being watched and looked around. Nothing seemed out of place though, there were children playing on the playground, adults talking as they were watching their kids, there was a man walking his dog, a girl rollerblading through the park. "Spence?" JJ called as she rested her hand on his shoulder, "You okay?"

"Yeah…just thought I saw something," he answered.

"Uncle Spence, come on let's play," Henry insisted, kicking a soccer ball to him.

JJ watched as Reid just lightly kicked the ball back to him. "Same old, Spence, still not much of a sports player," she teased before she playfully stole the ball away from him when Henry kicked it back. She kicked the ball up and was bouncing it off her knee.

"You make it look easy," he told her.

"I played soccer growing up," she answered as she dribbled the ball back and forth.

Henry was laughing, watching his mommy tease his Uncle Spence with the ball.

Reid watched her for a second before he tried taking it away from her. She laughed as she kicked the ball backwards away from him. "Okay, not fair," he told her. Before she could chase the ball down, he grabbed her from behind and JJ shrieked suddenly when he lifted her up off the ground.

"Whoa! Where did this come from?" she asked laughing.

"Morgan's been helping me get some strength to keep up with Henry," he replied with a smirk.

"You're cheating now," she told him.

"I didn't know we were actually playing soccer rules," he answered before he swung her around once.

Before he could react, she took her foot and wrapped it around his calf, making him lose his balance. They both landed on the ground and JJ moved faster, pinning her boyfriend to the ground. "Alright, you give?" she asked. Reid was able to get his arms free and grabbed her waist, flipping them over so he was on top.

"Not really," he answered.

Just when she was going to give a retort, he pressed his lips against hers. Just like that, she was putty in his hands. The old electric shock feelings she had when they would kiss came back at full force. It surprised her that he was the first to initiate the kiss, before when they were together before, it was her who initiated the kissing or any sort of intimate contact.

Of course, this wasn't the same Spencer Reid, since his memory had been wiped it was like a do over for him socially. He wasn't as awkward as he used to be, he didn't bury his nose in books or science fiction films all the time like before. This was a whole new man, only there was still the same old Reid. He still flushed at certain comments made about him, he still stuttered sometimes to a crowd, and he still rambled about any giving subject. This Reid was just more confident around her and Henry and she loved it.

Reid rested his hand on the side of her neck, enjoying the feel of familiar sensations rushing through his own body. "Ucky!" a voice exclaimed, which forced them apart.

"Sorry buddy, we got carried away," JJ said laughing as she got out from underneath Reid and picking her son up.

"I'm hungry mommy," Henry told her.

"Well, I guess it's snack time," JJ commented.

Reid watched her go back up the hill and got himself, brushing the grass off his clothes. Sitting down, he smiled as he took the iced tea JJ made for him and opened it as he enjoyed the rest of the beautiful, sunny afternoon with his girlfriend and godson.


	14. When Hearts become One

Chapter 14: When Hearts Become One

Reid was walking with JJ on one of the rare nights they had a chance of being alone. "You seem deep in thought," He told her as he entwined his fingers with hers. JJ glanced at him and let out a sigh.

"Just a few things on my mind," she replied.

Letting her hand go, he wrapped his arm around her back. "Want to share them?" he asked.

"There's nothing to really share, Spence," she replied.

Pulling her a little closer, he kissed the side of her head while his hand moved over her waist. "I just wish we could find the guy who did this to you," she finally admitted.

"You mean that Charles guy?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied.

Sighing, he pulled her a little closer. "We'll find him, he's just really smart, he's hiding right now," he replied.

"I know, I just wish we could find him so we can move on with our lives," she told him.

"What does he have anything to do with our lives? We can't stop living just because he's waiting for the right moment to pounce," he replied.

She moved her hand over the arm around her waist. "I love you," he told her.

"I know," she murmured, resting her head on his shoulder.

Reid let out a sigh. "Is there going to be a time I'll hear you say it back?" he asked. She looked up at him with a soft smile.

"I'll say then when the time is right," she replied.

He kissed the top of her head before they stopped walking and he hugged her tight. She hugged him back, closing her eyes as they just stood in the middle of the park, hugging each other tight. As he hugged his girlfriend close, he suddenly had the feeling they were being watched again. Looking over his shoulder, he saw someone in the bushes. "Hey!" he called out, letting JJ go, going after the person when they started running.

"Spence!" JJ called out.

Reid kept chasing the spy. "HEY! STOP!" he shouted. His shouting only made the man run faster. Suddenly remembering there was a shortcut through this park, Reid went in another direction.

"SPENCE!" JJ shouted as she ran after both of them.

JJ went in the same direction as her boyfriend, reaching into her bag to pull out the small handgun she kept in it.

Reid spotted the man who was about to run across the street. Using all his strength and adrenaline, he grabbed the man around the waist and they both ended up on the ground. "Who are you?!" Reid demanded.

"Take it easy man! Take it easy!" he exclaimed, keeping his hands raised.

JJ ran over, but then saw the man wasn't Charles. "Spence, let him go, he's just a kid," she told him.

"Who are you?" Reid ordered.

"Damien Massey," the boy replied.

"Why were you watching us?" Reid demanded.

"I had a message for you," Damien replied.

He reached into his shirt pocket, handing Reid a yellow piece of paper. Reid took the paper and opened it.

_Hello Dr. Reid,_

_ It's been awhile. You think you have won, but you have yet to realize the game has only begun. I am looking forward to winning this game._

Reid glanced at JJ before looking back at the young man. "Who gave this to you?" he asked.

"He said his name was Charles," the boy replied.

JJ swallowed hard before Reid let him up. "You need to come to the station with us, we have more questions for you," JJ told the young man.

Going to the BAU, Reid was sitting at his desk, staring at the picture of him, JJ, and Henry. He was trying to figure out what he had done wrong to gain such hatred from someone. As he was thinking, JJ came up behind him and wrapped her arms around him. "The kid checks out, he's a straight A college student. All he thought he was doing was making an easy 50 bucks," She told him.

"At least he's not in on this," Reid murmured.

Noticing the off look on his face, she pulled a chair up and looked at him. "Talk to me, Spence," She said softly.

"I'm trying to figure out what I did to this guy," he replied, "Obviously he is after me, but what did I do to gain such hatred from a person?"

Frowning, JJ rested his cheek on the top of his head. "I wish I knew what to tell you, Spence, this man has been out to get us from the start," she murmured. Reaching up, he held her hands in his and let out a sigh.

"I'm not going to let him hurt you," he told her.

JJ watched as Reid started pacing the bullpen. "Spence, calm down we'll find him," she insisted.

"I can't figure this out," he told her as he sat back down.

"You're going to give yourself an aneurysm with this," she answered.

Sitting down, Reid rubbed his forehead. "JJ, just take Spencer home to get him some sleep," Hotch instructed. JJ nodded as she got up and helped her boyfriend out of his chair before they left.

When they arrived home, Reid was so exhausted he kissed his girlfriend goodnight before he went up to his room. Pulling off his clothes and pulling on his pajamas, he climbed into bed and sleep almost immediately claimed him.

**_ He was floating, floating in a white mist. Opening his eyes, he saw that he was in his house, but it was dark. "JJ?" he called. He saw his gun sitting beside his bed and grabbed it. "JJ? Henry?" he called as he walked through the dark halls._**

**_"Spence! Help us, Spence!" he heard JJ call out._**

**_"JJ! I'm coming!" he answered._**

**_ He started running through the halls when he saw the back door wide open. "JJ!" he called out as he ran into the backyard. Instead of the regular backyard, it was the same tall field. He heard JJ and Henry screaming. "JJ! HENRY!" he shouted as he ran through the tall grass._**

**_ He came out on the other side of the field when someone punched him in the face and he went sprawling across the ground. Opening his eyes, he saw JJ kneeling in front of him with Henry beside her. "You will watch, Dr. Reid, you will watch as you lose everything just like me," Charles told him as he held a gun to Spencer's head._**

**_"NO!" Reid shouted as two men held guns up to JJ and Henry._**

Reid shot up from bed, gasping for air. Quickly getting out of bed, he practically threw his bedroom door open and rushed down to JJ's room. Opening the door he was relieved to see that JJ was fast asleep. Walking over, he reached out and touched her hair lightly.

JJ woke up to the feeling someone touching her hair. At first she was alarmed, but when she opened her eyes to grab her gun, she saw that it as just Reid. "Spence…you okay" She asked as she sat up.

"I had another nightmare, I was just checking to see if you were okay," he replied.

Reaching up, she took his hand in hers and pulled him down onto her bed. "I just need to hold you," He murmured.

"Then hold me," she answered.

He held her close, feeling relief wash over him as he held her in his arms. She was touching his cheek lightly when their eyes locked. Leaning forward he kissed her deeply. She kissed him back, wrapping her arms around him and pulled him down on top of her.

Outside, Charles was watching the two of them. Watched as they kissed each other and then started undressing each other. He was disgusted, completely disgusted. He couldn't believe that his plan backfired so much that it only brought them closer together. He thought his little warning would've made Dr. Reid want to leave his precious little JJ to keep her safe. No, damn stubborn man insisted on staying with her to keep her safe. "Stupid food," He muttered, gritting his teeth when JJ let out a moan of pleasure. Letting out a hiss, he left the backyard to come up with another plan. A plan that would be foolproof and not even the great Dr. Reid can figure it out before he acted upon it.

Later on, Reid was watching as JJ slept. She had on his shirt on just in case Henry would come in during the night for anything. He had his head resting on the pillow as he watched her, his thumb caressing her jaw lightly. He smiled as she reached up in her sleep, gripping his hand lightly in hers. "I love you," he whispered as sleep claimed him for a second time that night.


	15. Feeling the Bond

Chapter 15: Feeling the Bond

JJ woke up to the feeling of Reid's arms around her. Smiling, she nuzzled his chest with a happy sig. She suddenly felt a kiss to the top of her head. "Hey," he whispered.

"Hey…how long have you been awake?" she asked, sitting up.

Reid pushed his hair from his eyes as he sat up. "About ten minutes," He replied, "I was watching you sleep." Smiling, she sat up and pressed her lips to his. Smiling, he kissed her back while his arms went around her back.

She pushed him down onto the bed as she deepened their kiss. It was as if they were back to how it was before, when it was just the two of them. They didn't worry about the BAU, no cases, no unsubs, just the two of them basking in the newly rediscovered spark in their relationship.

Pulling away, Reid's lips started to caress her neck softly. Sighing softly, she ran her hand over his neck as his lips moved toward her collarbone. She felt electric shocks rush up and own her body as his hands started to move up the shirt she was wearing, but then little knocks on the door pulled them apart. "Mommy!" Henry called.

"Yeah sweetheart," JJ answered as Reid started pulling his pajama pants back on.

Henry opened the door and was surprised to see Reid in bed with JJ. "Mommy, why is Uncle Spence here?" he asked.

"I came to talk to mama about something," Reid replied as he got up, messing up his already messed up hair.

"What's up kiddo?" JJ asked.

"I'm hungry, can we have pancakes?" Henry asked.

"Sure thing," JJ replied.

Grabbing her own pajama pants that were lying on the floor, she slipped them on underneath the blankets before getting out of bed. Henry at this point had run downstairs and Reid pulled his girlfriend close. "Before you go down…" he started. He pulled her close and kissed her lightly.

Smiling, she kissed him back while moving her fingers up into his hair. Reid brushed his nose against hers as he slowly pulled away. "I'll see you down there," He told her.

"Sounds good to me," She answered.

Reid watched her go and let out a deep breath. "Wow…wow…" was all he could say as he sat down on the chest at the foot of her bed. He ran his fingers through his hair. Here he was trying to remember his life when he saw that he was restarting a life he had lost with JJ. Not many people get a second chance like he was, even though he couldn't remember everything yet about his life, at this point he really didn't care if he did remember or not. As long as JJ was by his side, everything was going to be alright.

When he finally went downstairs, he saw JJ sitting at the table eating with Henry. "Your plate is on the counter," She said smiling. Smiling, he walked up behind her and kissed the top of her head, his hands resting on her shoulders.

"Thanks," he murmured, "When do we go to the BAU?"

"We don't, not unless they call," She answered.

Reid glanced at her as he poured himself coffee. "Why not?" he asked.

"We're on vacation until further notice, Hotch wants you to take a break in between cases," She replied.

Sighing, he sat down. "I wish you guys wouldn't treat me like a kid," He insisted.

"The doctor doesn't want you to overdo it," she answered.

Frowning, he looked at his plate as he pushed his eggs around. Reaching over, JJ held his hand in hers. "Hey, everything will be okay," she assured him softly.

"I know," he answered, giving her hand a squeeze.

That afternoon, the three of them had gone to the park again and Reid was sitting on a picnic blanket, watching as JJ and Henry were running around the playground. Henry was laughing hysterically as JJ would tickle him whenever he tried to climb up to the monkey bars.

The longer he watched them, the more he realized that this was his life now. He loved it, he loved the fact that even though his past was still fuzzy, his future never looked so bright. Wait…did he always feel like that when it came to JJ? He reached into his bag and pulled out a book, it was a first edition to a book about King Arthur and his Knights. Suddenly, a memory played like it was a movie.

_ JJ was sitting anxiously across from him as he was opening his birthday gift. "You didn't need to get me anything, JJ," he insisted_

_"Oh hush you'll love it," she answered._

_ Opening the box, his eyes grew wide. "Wow…" he said quietly._

_"I remember you saying your mom used to read you those stories when you were a kid," She commented._

_"She did," he replied._

_ He was in complete awe as he as staring at the book. "JJ…thank you," he told her. She gave him a soft smile._

_"I figure hey, one day when you have some little Reids of your own you can read that to them," she commented._

_ Reid put the book down and got up from his chair. For the first time his awkwardness and shyness around her faded and he hugged her. "Thank you so much," he murmured. He felt her arms go around her waist and he could smell her lilac shampoo as she rested her head on his shoulder._

_"You are very welcome," She said softly, rubbing his back._

Suddenly, JJ was in front of him. "What did you remember?" she asked.

"The day you gave me this book," he replied, showing it to her.

Smiling, she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear as she sat across from him. "I think that was your most favorite present you got," she answered, "It was on your desk for weeks, even though you finished reading it in like an hour." He laughed a little and he looked at her.

"Why?" he asked suddenly.

She gave him a quizzical look. "Why what?" she asked.

"Why did you say 'yes' to me when I had proposed, but when Will proposed you told him no?" he asked.

Staring at him in surprise, she sat beside him. "I—I don't know…guess I wasn't ready for that step," she replied.

"You guys had a kid together," he commented.

Frowning, she pulled her hair over her shoulder. "I don't know why, Spence…all I do know is I wasn't ready," She murmured, "When Will asked me…it didn't feel right." Swallowing hard, she got up. "Henry! Come on, buddy, we have to go," She called to her son.

"JJ…" Reid started.

JJ looked at him. "It's just complicated, okay?" she asked. Nodding his head slowly, he reached out and held her hand in his.

"I love you," he told her lightly.

She gave his hand a squeeze, giving him a slight nod before they packed their things up to go back home.


	16. At Last

Chapter 16: At Last

Reid smiled as he walked down the hall towards JJ's room, knocking on the door. "Jayje, you ready? The babysitter's here," He called to her.

"Yeah, just one second," she replied.

He opened the door to find his girlfriend brushing out her hair. "Wow…" he murmured. She smiled as she turned around to look at him. She was wearing a pair of black high heels with a knee-length beige skirt, and a tan button down blouse. Her hair was pulled back in a half-ponytail and the ponytail part was braided. "You look stunning," he told her

"Yeah?" she said smiling, "I think you're saying that just because you're my boyfriend."

Reid laughed a little as he walked over, resting his hands on her waist. "And the fact it's true," He told her. He kissed her gently, his hands moving over her back. Kissing him back, her arms went around his neck. Pulling away a little, he brushed his nose against hers.

"We should go before we end up sending Jessica home so soon," She quipped.

With a grin, he took her hand and they left her room to go out with the rest of the team.

Arriving at the club, it didn't take long for them to find their table. "Hey lovebirds, how's paradise?" Morgan asked with a grin as the two of them sat down.

"Everything's going great," JJ replied smiling.

"I made a mistake once I'm not making it again," Reid stated as he rested his hand on JJ's leg.

She gave him a soft smile, resting her hand over his, their finger entwining together. "What did your doctor say, Reid?" Hotch asked.

"He said that with the damage done to my head, that no one should be surprised if I don't remember every single aspect of my life. That I'm not going to exactly be the Spencer Reid you all remember," Reid explained before taking a sip of his drink, "Which that's common with a lot of people with any sort of brain damage."

JJ frowned as she moved her thumb over her boyfriend's knuckles. "Well, he's still the boy wonder," Morgan commented.

"How many books has he read in the last few days?" Garcia asked.

"He's read about five of them," JJ replied.

"Yep, still Reid in a lot of ways," Morgan commented.

Reid just smirked before looking at his girlfriend. "Let's dance," He said suddenly.

"You go, my man, go have some fun," Morgan told the younger man, making him roll his eyes.

"Sure," JJ answered Reid as she got up from the stool.

JJ followed him to the dance floor. "Remember the song?" he asked, gesturing to the song playing. Listening to the song playing, she smiled a little.

"_Everyday I love You_," she answered.

"The song we danced to in the last days were happy," he murmured.

With one of their hands clasped behind her back, he held onto her other hand as they were slowly dancing together to the song. "Will I hear those words some day?" He asked.

"Someday," she replied.

Reid couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, but he understood why she was afraid to admit that she did love him. She showed it to him every day, but yet he still wanted to hear the words. The words were pertinent to him, he needed to know that she was in this relationship with him for good. She rested her head on his chest as her hand let his hand go and moved up his back. His now free hand moved over her back beside their clasped hands, his chin resting over the top of her head. "Why do you have to hear the words to believe it?" she asked quietly.

"It would make me feel like you really do, that saying the words would be admittance to yourself that you're happy again," he replied.

Sighing, she kept her eyes closed. "You'll hear them," she assured him.

"I hope so, because I love you, JJ…very much," he answered.

"I know," she murmured.

Those two words were easily becoming his two most hated words in the English Language 'I know'. That's all she said whenever he told her he loved her. 'I know' to him made it feel like she knew he loved her, but yet she wasn't totally committed into the relationship because she wouldn't acknowledge her feelings for them.

Across the club, Charles was watching the couple. It was obvious the two of them were in a little bit of a fight. He couldn't hear what they were fighting about, but he could see the somewhat heartbroken expression on Dr. Reid's face. Good, he hoped that they would break up right then and there. That way he could move in on his target and take him out for good. That would show them, that would show that Charles Whitmore was no fool that they could easily catch. Once he had Dr. Reid in his grasp, he can easily get rid of everyone else.

When the song ended, Reid let his girlfriend go, letting out a sigh. "I need to get some air," he told her, letting her go.

"Spence…" she called to him lightly as he went outside.

Garcia went up to her. "What was that, Peaches?" she asked. JJ swallowed hard.

"I just hurt him again," she sadly.

Garcia rested her hand on her shoulder. "Drink and talk sister, drink and talk," she insisted, leading JJ to the bar.

Outside, Reid was dragging his fingers through his hair. He was frustrated, angry even. Except, he couldn't understand why he was so angry, they were just words weren't they? No…not to him…they were important for him to hear. He needed to know if she loved him back, if their relationship had a chance of going the distance. He wanted to go the distance with JJ. Did he feel like this before? Then another memory appeared in his mind.

**_ Reid was sitting at his desk at the bullpen when JJ came down the stairs. "Night, Spence," She told him smiling._**

**_"Goodnight, JJ," He answered._**

**_ Getting up from his desk, he walked over to the window and saw what he already knew he was going to see, he just had to be sure. Will was standing outside waiting for JJ. When she came out, he wrapped her up in his arms and the two of them shared a kiss. He frowned, tapping his fingers on the windowsill. "This is what you get, Reid, this is what you get for doing stupid things instead of asking for help," He told himself as he walked back to his desk. He sat down and rubbed his forehead._**

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked behind him to see Morgan there. "What was that, kid?" he asked.

"I'm thirty-three do you mind not calling me 'kid'?" Reid answered.

"Not as long as it's ture to this team, com on, Reid, talk," Morgan insisted.

Reid let out a sigh as he leaned against the rail. "I'm starting to wonder if my relationship with JJ will go any further than how it is right now. Maybe because part of it is my fault in some shape or form that I don't remember," he replied.

"You just have to keep in mind, Reid, JJ's gone through has gone through a lot in the last year and a half. Her boyfriend, the father of her kid was killed, and now this happened to you. She's having a hard time adjusting to everything, she's strong, but inside she's still a woman trying to keep her own life together," Morgan explained.

"I really don't understand women, of all the things I know I do know, I don't understand that," Reid answered.

Morgan just smirked. "Welcome to the club, kid," he stated, patting his back.

"Was he a good guy? This Will guy?" Reid asked.

"Yea, he was a good guy," Morgan replied.

"Then why didn't JJ marry him when he proposed? She said 'yes' to me, but why didn't she ever say 'yes' to him? Their relationship went further than ours," Reid stated.

"Can't answer that for you, and I think JJ's trying to figure that out for herself," Morgan replied.

Inside, JJ was sitting at the bar letting out a sigh. "So you're struggling with your feelings for our Boy Wonder," Garcia commented.

"I know I love him, Garcia. I know I do, but whenever I try to bring myself to say it…I just…I'm scared that if I admit to myself that I love him, then there's a possibility I can lose him for good too," JJ explained.

Garcia frowned, resting her hand on her arm. "I lost Will, I hate the idea of losing Spence permanently. I've lost him twice, I don't know what I'll do if anything happens to him a third time," she added.

"Reid's not going anywhere, sweetie. He's right here, waiting for you like he's always waited," Garcia answered.

"Was everyone seeing how he still felt about me, but me?" she asked.

"Just about, especially when it came to Henry. If you think about it, sweetie, subconsciously, he's thinking about what kind of life you two could've had if it weren't for Hankel. Tobias ruined his life in more ways than one," Garcia replied.

JJ swallowed hard, pushing her hair from her eyes. "I remember those nights…the night terrors…" she said quietly, "The way he would wake up screaming, it still chills me to the bone." Garcia nodded her head slowly and JJ gave her hand a squeeze.

"You love the boy, now just tell him," Garcia insisted, making the other blond woman smile.

When the couple arrived home that night, Reid sent the babysitter home. Once she left for the night, Reid looked at his girlfriend. "Sorry that I ruined everything," told her.

"You didn't," she assured him.

She hung her jacket up. "I'm going to go to bed," She murmured.

"Jennifer," He called to her as she went up the stairs.

Stopping, she looked back at him. "For what it's worth, I do love you, with every fiber of my being. It might be some weird chemical reaction that happens to our bodies to create the illusion of love, but I just know that I do love you. I have waited for you. I want to one day be the guy you marry and the father Henry needs. I just need to know you're willing to go that distance with me," he answered. Walking over, she wrapped her arms around his neck. There were silent for a second but then her blue eyes locked with his brown one.

"Everyday I love you," she said softly.

Feeling relief wash over him, Reid pulled her a little closer and kissed her deeply. She kissed him back, her arms wrapping a little tighter around his neck. Pulling away, she held onto his hand and led him upstairs to her room.

**I dedicate these last two chapters to the amazing author JJCM for her hard work on her story 'Follow the Leader'. Keep up the great work, JJCM, hope you liked the last couple of chapters :).**


	17. Reid's Last Straw

Chapter 17: Reid's Last Straw

As Reid slept with his arms around JJ, while JJ was awake and was watching him sleep. Smiling softly, she leaned forward and brushed her lips against his before she slowly untangled herself from his arms. Getting out of bed, she pulled on a pair of gray shorts and Reid's shirt before going downstairs.

Henry ran into the kitchen. "Mommy, how come Uncle Spence sleeps in your bed now? You said I'm too big to sleep in your bed," he commented.

"Uncle Spence and I were talking last night and we just fell asleep," she answered simply.

Henry started at his mother quizzically. "All the time now?" he asked.

"It's grown up talk sweetie, you're too little to understand," she replied, kissing the top of his head.

"I'm always too little…" Henry said with a sigh.

JJ kissed the top of his head again. "Trust me, sweetie, when you're older you'll gladly want to forget ever asking me why," she assured him before she put his eggs and toast in front of him. She rubbed her forehead and let out a sigh, her head was starting to ache a little.

"You okay?" Reid asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah…I think I drank too much last night," She replied.

"You only had two beers," he pointed out.

"I did?" she asked.

Reid looked at her. "Yeah…remember? Here I thought I was the one with amnesia,'" he quipped as he sat down with his own plate.

"I guess I wasn't paying attention," She commented as she sat down with her own breakfast.

"Well, between our argument and then coming home not long after that, not surprising," he answered.

She rubbed her forehead again. "It's probably just from the stress from the last few cases and this Charles thing," She told Reid as she got up to take some aspirin.

"Why don't you get some rest? You didn't get much of it last night," he commented without thinking.

JJ shoved her boyfriend. "Spence," she hissed. He just smirked as she went upstairs.

"Why didn't mommy sleep?" Henry asked.

"Because she was talking to your Uncle Spence," Reid replied.

Henry just shrugged his shoulders before he went to get ready for kindergarten.

JJ was lying in bed, waiting for her headache to go away. By this time, Reid had left to drop Henry off at school. As she was resting, she didn't hear the living room window downstairs open. Charles quietly climbed up the stairs, knowing that Reid wouldn't be back for another twenty minutes, plenty of time. Standing over JJ's half-sleeping form, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his knife, pressing it against her throat.

Feeling something cold and sharp against her throat, her eyes shot open and she saw Charles standing over her. "Quiet," he told her. Glaring at him, JJ, reached for her gun in the nightstand when Charles grabbed her wrist and twisted it. She moved to get out of his grasp when he suddenly grabbed her other arm and twisted them both behind her back, sending her face forward on the bed. "Damn, can't you just follow directions once?!" He hissed. Striking out with her foot, she kicked him in the thigh. He stumbled back and JJ reached for her gun again. He punched her in the face, sending her to the floor. "I hate having to do that to your beautiful face," He told her.

JJ reached for the gun case under her bed when Charles grabbed her leg, pulling her back. "GET OFF!" she shouted, turning onto her back to kick him again.

"How many times do I have to tell ya, fighting me only turns me on," he told her as he grabbed her other leg when she tried to kick him again.

She let out a shriek when he pinned her legs to the floor. "Get off me!" she snapped as she punched him in the face. Charles reached into the nightstand behind him and grabbed the glock she was reaching for. He pressed the barrel against her jaw and she froze.

"That's a good girl," he sneered.

Just when she thought he was going to forget that the safety was off the gun, she could hear the click of the lock coming off. "I have been waiting so long for this moment," he told her, "You're so beautiful." JJ felt a lump form in her throat as Charles ran his hand up to her chest. She went to knee him in the stomach when he pinned her legs down. "Don't fight me, baby," he insisted.

"I'm not your baby!" she snapped.

He cocked the gun and her blood ran cold. "Is this how you want your precious Spencer to find you?" he asked. JJ glared before she head butt him, kneeing him in the stomach and sent him straight to the floor. JJ got up from the floor and went to grab the gun when he grabbed her wrist and he kicked her in the stomach, knocking the air out of her. She struck out with her fist, hitting him in the face. She moved to grab her handcuffs when she felt his boot connect right between her legs.

The pain rushed through her and she stumbled a bit trying to get her breath back. Suddenly, Charles grabbed her hair and threw her onto the bed again. She let out a scream as she tried to kick him, but he punched her in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her again. She kept struggling against him when he removed his belt, tying it around her wrists. "NO!" she shouted as she tried to buck him off her.

"That's not going to work," he answered, laughing as the weakened FBI Agent tried to fight him.

JJ tried to kick at him when he pinned her down. "NO!" she screamed again, trying to fight him. She was hoping that Spence would come in at that moment and get this man off her. He punched her in the head and she was dazed. Charles kissed her, slipping his tongue into her mouth. Pulling back, he looked down at her with a grin.

"You're mine now, Jennifer, just sit back and enjoy the ride," He sneered as he pulled her pajama shorts down.

JJ tried to kick him again when he grabbed her leg and pinned it to the mattress, shoving her leg to the side and rammed his hips against hers. She let out a scream of pain when his pelvis crashed against her throbbing pelvis. He leaned forward and bit her neck, grinning as she screamed even louder in pain. "Dr. Reid, this is what you get for destroying everything," he thought as he ripped her shirt off. This had nothing to do with sexual desire for Agent Jareau, had to do with his revenge on Dr. Reid and he just got it.

When Reid finally got back, he went up the stairs to check on his girlfriend. He would've been back sooner if traffic hadn't picked up. He went toward the bedroom and opened the door to expect to find JJ asleep from her headache. What he saw made his eyes grow wide. "JJ!" he exclaimed, running to his unconscious girlfriend. She was naked, bloodied and beaten. She had bite marks on her shoulder and her torso. "Oh God…JJ!" he exclaimed. Running over to her, he covered her up.

At that moment, JJ woke up to someone covering her up. "No!" she called out.

"JJ, it's me, it's Spence," Reid assured her.

Her body was shaking as she was sitting up. Grabbing one of his shirts that sat on her dresser, he pulled it on her before handing her pajama pants. "Come on, I'm getting you to the hospital," He told her, lifting her up. JJ held onto him as she was shaking. "I've got you, I've got you," he whispered as he carried her down the stairs as he carried her to the car to get to the emergency room.

When JJ woke up again, she saw that she was in a hospital. "JJ," she heard Reid say. She suddenly remembered the vicious assault that happened to her and sat up. She looked down at herself to see the bandages on her torso from where Charles bit her as the assault happened. She remembered how much she hurt, not just on her torso, but between her thighs she was really throbbing.

"Oh God Spence…" she said with a shaky breath.

Reid hugged her gently, rubbing her back. "He came into the house, I tried so hard to fight him but he got me," she said trying not to cry. Reid sat beside her as he hugged her close. Reid was angry, seething even. This man snuck into his house and attacked JJ again. This time, he went one step too far. He went as far as violating her just to get back at him.

When JJ finally fell asleep again, Reid got off the bed and left the hospital. Garcia had agreed to take Henry that night, so the house would be empty again.

Entering the house, Reid went up the stairs to his room. Opening the safe, he pulled out his glock, making sure it was loaded. Grabbing his credentials, he wrapped his belt around his waist before heading down the stairs and out the door without a second glance.

Reid just kept walking, he had no idea where he was going, he just purposely made himself vulnerable to Whitmore. "Alright Whitmore! I know you're here!" he called out. His jaw locked as his eyes scanned the buildings. "Come out you coward!" he snapped, "You like to attack women? You like to beat then and assault them until they are unconscious?!"

"No," a voice said behind him.

Reid turned around to see Charles standing there. "I'm here for you, Dr. Reid, as has always been my game," Charles answered. Just as Reid reached for his gun, Charles had reached for a taser and the volts hit the young agent in the chest and his world went completely black.


	18. JJ's Mission

Chapter 18: JJ's Mission

J woke up, her body still ached from the second attack Charles inflicted on her. "How are you feeling?" the doctor asked as he came in.

"Sore…where's my son?" she asked.

"He'll be here shortly, your friend, Penelope, will be here," the doctor replied.

She looked around, searching for Reid. "Where's my boyfriend?" she asked.

"I haven't seen him since I checked on you earlier," he replied.

She frowned, sitting back against the pillows. "Mommy," she heard Henry call. Looking over, she smiled to see her son.

"Hey kiddo," she said softly, pulling her son into her arms.

"Are you coming home soon mommy?" Henry asked.

"Tomorrow night, we need to keep an eye on your mommy, she's been hurt real bad," the doctor told the little boy.

"Garcia, where's Spence?" JJ asked.

Garcia looked at her. "I—I don't know, he was here with you the last time I saw him," Garcia replied. JJ sat there holding her son in her arms and her eyes grew wide. The last thing she remembered was the anger in her boyfriend's eyes before he kissed her and left the room.

"Oh God…Garcia…he's going after Charles," she told her friend.

Immediately, Garcia pulled out her phone, calling Morgan.

Later on, JJ was trying to get out of bed. "JJ, the doctor said you can't leave for another day," Morgan told her.

"Screw what the doctor says, Spence needs my help," JJ answered as she scrambled to find her clothes.

Morgan saw that she was struggling to stand and grabbed her. "We're going to find Reid, alright? The best thing you can do right now is rest," he told her.

"I can't rest knowing that Reid's out there trying to find the man who did this to me," JJ answered, "Charles can kill him look what he did to me?!"

Morgan held onto the woman's hands. "JJ, stop," he told her. She tried to calm down, letting out a deep breath. "I'm going to find him, alright? I'll find him," he insisted. JJ swallowed hard and nodded her head slowly.

"We'll find him," she agreed softly.

Morgan gave her shoulder a light pat. "I need to help you find him, I can't just sit here, Morgan," she insisted.

"Alright, alright," he answered.

She grabbed her clothes and went into the bathroom to change.

Arriving at the house, Morgan looked around the house. "So, Reid came in, took his gun and credentials, and then left the house," he told her.

"He had just seen me beaten and bloodied in our bed, it infuriated him obviously," she answered.

Morgan walked into the bedroom to see it still torn up from JJ and Charles's fight. "I know this is hard, JJ, but I need you to tell me what happened yesterday," he told her. Swallowing hard, JJ looked around the bedroom, seeing the discarded knife on the floor. The attack flashed through her mind and her stomach started hurting at the memory.

"I'm going to be sick…" she said suddenly.

She bolted into the bathroom and emptied her stomach. Morgan stood behind his friend and held her hair back as she got sick. Once she was done getting sick, she stood up with shaky legs. "JJ, I need to know what he said," he told her.

"It was a lot of taunts, he kept calling me 'baby'. He kept talking about Spence, how this was all about Spence," she murmured.

"So really, this attack had nothing to do with sexual desire?" Morgan asked.

' JJ sat down in the chair, staring at the destroyed bed. She rubbed her forehead, her stomach was still twisting a little at the new memories. "No…it had nothing to do with him, it all has to do with Spence," She whispered with tears in her eyes.

"We have to go through Reid to get to Charles," Morgan told her.

JJ walked over to a fallen picture frame that was on the floor, picking it up. It was a picture of her and Reid at last year's Christmas party. They had their arms around each other and they were laughing about something. "I'm going to find you, Spence, I promise," she whispered before she put the picture back up on the shelf, leaving with Morgan to try to find Reid.

Wherever Reid was, he woke up to his body still aching from the taser that hit him. "Well, look who's awake," Charles sneered. Reid went to look at his captor when he realized he was hanging in the air.

"Why are you doing this?" Reid asked, "Why did you hurt JJ? Whatever you're angry with me about it's at me, not her."

Charles just chuckled. "Why? Did you not like how you found her? Covered in my bite marks, knowing that my hands touched every…single…inch of her?"

"You monster," Reid said angrily, "To beat a woman so severely so you can rape her."

"Which I did then I did it again and again and again and again," Charles said with a sneer, "I can see why you like her."

Reid tried to kick him in the face but Charles just started laughing. "Why don't you just kill me and leave her alone?!" he snapped.

"And ruin my plans for you? No way," Charles answered.

"JJ had nothing to do with whatever this is," Reid said angrily.

"Of course she did, I knew that if I hurt her enough, that you would come searching for me alone," Charles told him.

Reid glared at him as he stayed suspended in the air. "Now that we are alone…" Charles commented. He walked over to Reid and punched him in the stomach, knocking the air out of him. "So that way there's not much fighting," he said more to himself than to Reid. Gripping the front of the younger man's shirt, he ripped it apart. "Alright let's see here," he murmured.

"You really think that you're going to get away with this?" Reid asked.

Charles grabbed Reid's feet, tying them together and then tying the rope to a hook that was in the floor to keep Reid from trying to kick him. "I already am, your team had no idea that you came looking for me. They're too caught up with what I did to your precious JJ to even realize you tried to take me on by yourself. Now that I've got you here, I can finally get my revenge," he explained. Charles looked like he was pondering, circling Reid as if he was some sort of project that needed to be finished. "Let's see, something's missing…" he told himself.

Suddenly, an evil sneer appeared on the man's face. "Ah yes…" he murmured as he reached into his pocket, revealing a large knife. "Let's begin," he commented. Walking up to Reid, the agent tried anything to move away but with his arms above his head and his feet straight to the floor, he had nowhere to move. "This will hurt…a lot," Charles stated as he took the knife and dug it into his skin. Reid let out a painful shout as the knife dug and turned. When he finally pulled back, he revealed that he had cut 'Murderer' into his chest. "I think that looks pretty damn good," Charles commented as if he had started creating a masterpiece.

"I never did anything to you, I had never met you before," Reid told him.

Charles took a drink of water from a stainless steel bottle that sat on a wooden table. "Nope, but you met my older half-brother," he answered. Reid gave him a quizzical look, trying to ignore the constant burning I his chest. "What your team failed to find out is my name is Elijah Hankel, Tobias's younger half-brother, who you viciously murdered," Charles snapped. Before Reid could react, the unsub punched him across the face.


	19. Nightmarish Night

Chapter 19: Nightmarish Night

Reid woke up with his head and chest throbbing. Looking at his tied wrists, he looked around to try to either sit or stand on to get the pressure off his wrists. Seeing there was a bar not too far from him, he swung his legs up, feeling a little relieved now that he could get the feeling back in his fingers.

Looking around, he let out a deep breath as he tried to find a way to get his wrists free from the shackles they were in. Suddenly, he remembered he had a pick in his sock. Swinging his left leg up, he shook his foot back and forth until the pick he had fell into his hand. Feeing relieved, he let his leg drop to the back and started working on the shackles on his wrists. When he finally heard the resounding click, the shackles were released and he dropped to the floor. Groaning, he looked at his blooded wrists and then the little "tattoos" as Charles called them on his chest.

For the last two days, Charles would return to the cell and carve another word into Reid's chest. His newest one was '666'. Groaning, he coughed a little as he stood up on shaky legs. He ran towards the door to tug it open when he was met with a chain lock on the other side of the door. "Dammit," He muttered. He tugged on the door even harder, trying to break the chain lock on the door. Suddenly, he was hit in the middle of his back, sending him to the floor.

"Do you really think I was going to let you believe there was one way in and out of this place?" Charles sneered as he looked down at the injured man.

Reid glared at him as he struck out with his fist, hearing a sickening crack in the man's nose as he got up onto his feet. Charles let out a shout as he grabbed Reid around the waist, throwing the man into the nearest brick wall. Reid kicked him in the stomach and then punched him in the face again. He grabbed the key that hung from his belt and ran towards a cellar door on the floor. He slid on the floor, trying to get the key into the lock when Charles walked over and grabbed Reid by the top of his head, dragging him across the floor. Charles kicked him in the stomach, knocking the air out of him. "You know, I think little JJ needs another little visit," Charles sneered.

"Stay away from her," Reid answered.

Charles just sneered as he suddenly grabbed the younger man by his throat, slamming him hard against the wall. Reid saw stars, but then he let out a howl of pain when he felt the taser press against his already injured chest and once more his world went dark.

Back at the BAU, JJ was rubbing her forehead as she was trying to beat the headache that was pounding through her head. "Alright, so we know that this Charles guys favors warehouses," Morgan commented

"He might've upped his game though now that he has his real target," Rossi answered.

JJ rubbed the back of her neck as her stomach started to twist again. "You okay?" Hotch asked the young woman.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just want to find Spence," she answered.

"We're going to find him, but we won't find him any faster if you're not mentally able to do this," Hotch told her.

She shook her head slowly, rubbing her forehead. "No, I need to be here," she answered before grabbing a map to try to figure out a geographic profile. Suddenly, her cell phone started ringing. Looking at it, she saw that it was an unknown number. Frowning, she looked at the team and went to answer the phone. "Agent Jareau," she answered.

"JJ, whatever you hear don't…" she heard Reid say.

"Spence?!" she said with wide eyes.

"Hello, Agent Jareau, as you can see, your precious Spencer Reid is alive," he answered.

JJ felt her stomach twist. "You better not hurt him," she said angrily.

"Or what? Sounds like you're about to get personal there," he answered.

She looked at the team to see them watching her. "If you tell your team anything, Dr. Reid is dead where he stands," Charles told her.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Aw, you know how to ruin a guy's fun, Agent," Charles said with a slight pout.

JJ was silent as she leaned against the wall. "I would like you to meet me in the BAU parking lot, I promise you'll see your precious Reid again," he told her.

"Why?" she asked.

"Spencer's lonely, he can use some company," Charles answered.

"JJ, DON'T!" she heard Reid shout.

JJ felt her stomach do a flip when she heard a sickening crack on the other end of the phone. "Okay, okay! Just don't hurt him anymore, I'll do it," she answered.

"Good, now, I want you here at midnight, no later, if you are a minute late, I will take Spencer and he will disappear for good," he told her.

"Understood," she answered.

Hanging up, she let out a deep breath. "Everything okay?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah, it was just Henry," she replied.

"JJ, we can handle things from here, you need to go home," Hotch insisted.

Nodding her head slowly, JJ grabbed her bag off Reid's desk. "Fine," she said with a sigh as she left the BAU.

Back in the little room, Reid was hanging high above the air again. "Now, let's see you try to get of this," Charles sneered.

"I didn't murder your brother," Reid answered.

"Really? You killed a mentally sick person, that's qualified as murder," Charles told him.

"I couldn't save your brother, the father part of his mind came to attack me. I had to defend myself," Reid answered.

Charles just glared at him. "Just shut up!" he snapped. Reid watched as the man started pacing nervously.

"You're worried about this not working," Reid commented.

"I said shut up," Charles answered.

Reid just smirked. "You know you won't win," he stated.

"I said SHUT UP!" Charles shouted.

Reid stared at him, but kept his mouth shut. "Your little girlfriend is on her way, Dr. Reid, looks like we all get to have some fun," the unsub sneered.

"Don't you dare touch her," Reid answered.

Charles only chuckled evilly. "Trust me, Dr. Reid, you'll even love this," he taunted the young man before he grabbed his keys off the hook on the wall, "Now if you excuse me, I have a date to pick up." Reid watched him go and looked at what was below him. Below was a large tank of water, not just water, salt water. Ever since he tried to escape earlier that day, Charles now needed to use Plan B to keep him prisoner.

In the BAU parking lot, JJ was leaning against her car and rubbed her hands together nervously when a van pulled up. She pushed her hair over her shoulder when Charles got out of the van. "Hello, beautiful," he sneered.

"Where's Spence?" she asked.

"Well, that's dampening the mood a bit," he answered.

She glared at him, reaching for her gun. "Your boyfriend right now is suspended twenty feet in the air above a tank of water. You try anything, your boyfriend drops," he told her as he held up a remote. JJ swallowed, looking at the remote.

"You're bluffing," she answered.

"You may be right, shall we gamble with that theory?" he asked.

Frowning, she put her gun away. "That's a good girl," he sneered. Walking over, he ran his fingers over her cheek, along her jaw, and down her neck. He moved her back against the car and JJ's heart was racing in her chest. "You're so pretty," he murmured as he leaned forward, brushing his nose against her jaw as he took in her scent.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

Pulling away, Charles undid the belt around her waist, letting her gun drop to the ground, tossing her credentials right next to another car. "Just to have a little fun," he answered. Before she could start fighting him, she felt the electric shot of a taser rush through her and darkness claimed her. Lifting her up, Charles carried her over to the van and placed her in the back. Binding her hands and feet, he looked around before he got into the driver's side and sped off.


	20. Charles' Game

Chapter 20: Charles's Game

Reid woke up to find his arms tied above his head yet, but he was kneeling on the ground now. "Now that I see you can actually cooperate like a good boy," Charles sneered as he finished tying Reid's arms. Reid's eyes shifted around the room when he saw JJ across from him. "I brought you a little surprise," the unsub said with a grin. Reid noticed that JJ wasn't wearing her usual style of clothing, she was dressed in a knee-length white dress with spaghetti straps. "Isn't she pretty, Dr. Reid?" Charles asked.

"What did you do to her?" Reid demanded.

"Nothing, just changed her out of those stuffy suits she wears to the BAU," he answered.

Reid swallowed hard. "Let's wake her up shall we?" Charles asked. He walked over to JJ and Reid struggled against his binds when he saw him move behind his girlfriend.

"Get away from her!" he snapped.

"Don't ruin my fun," Charles answered with a glare.

Reid felt sick to his stomach as he watched as this evil man move his fingers along JJ's neck and moved lower. "Wake up, wake up Agent Jareau, don't sleep the day away," he said into her ear. JJ slowly woke up and immediately she tried pulling away. "There she is, welcome to your new life," he told her as he let her go, "Look who's here, JJ." JJ looked up she saw her boyfriend across the room.

"Spence!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide when she saw how beaten he was.

"I'm okay," he assured her, "I've been through worse."

"Okay you have us both now, now what do you want?" JJ demanded.

Charles tapped his chin. "What do _I_ want…nothing either of you can give me," he answered, "I'd like to have my brother back, but you can't bring him back." JJ looked at Reid quizzically. "Enough about what I want, let's talk here about what dear old Dr. Reid has been wanting all these years, you dear sweet Jennifer," he added before JJ could ask about Tobias.

JJ watched as Charles stood behind Reid, grinning evilly. "You remember the little secret she kept from you?" he asked.

"About Emily, yes, but I forgave her a long time ago about that," Reid answered.

"No, not that secret," Charles told him.

JJ stared at him. "I never kept anything from Spence other than that," she answered.

"Really? What about…Molly?" Charles asked.

Reid saw JJ's eyes grow wide over the name. "Molly? Who's Molly?" he asked.

"I thought you would never ask," Charles replied as he walked

JJ looked at her boyfriend. "Baby before you hear him say anything else, you need to know that I was following doctor's orders, to keep you safe," she explained.

"Who's Molly?" Reid asked.

Charles walked over, tossing a picture in front of Reid. "This is Molly," he replied. Reid stared at the photograph with wide eyes.

"Who is this?" he asked.

JJ swallowed hard with tears in her eyes. "JJ?" he asked

"You're an asshole!" she said angrily with tears in her eyes.

"JJ?" Reid asked.

JJ sniffled with tears in her eyes, looking at Charles. "I couldn't make him remember something he forced himself to forget!" she said angrily.

"JJ?" he asked.

JJ sniffled softly, looking at the picture on the floor. "Molly…Molly was our daughter," she told him. Reid's stomach twisted at her words.

"We had a daughter? Where is she?" he demanded.

Tears fell down her face with a shaky breath. "She's been gone…for about six years now, Spence," She whispered.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, "And why would I force myself to forget her?"

"Because she was what almost destroyed you forever," she replied, "Her death almost killed you."

Reid looked at her with wide eyes. "I didn't want you to remember this way I'm so sorry baby," She whispered with tears falling down her face as she lowered her head. Reid sat back in his seat as memories began to form in his head.

**_ Reid sat himself in the NICU of a hospital. "Here she is daddy," a nurse old him as she led him over to an incubator. He stared at the tiny premature infant with wide eyes. He reached in, holding her tiny hand between his thumb and index finger._**

**_"Hi, hi Molly," He said softly._**

**_"Did you want to hold her, daddy?" the nurse asked._**

**_"Can I?" he asked._**

**_ The nurse nodded with a smile as she pulled up a rocking chair. He suddenly started undoing the buttons on his shirt. "I want her to have that skin on skin bond, I might not be her mom, but I am her dad," he told the nurse who gave him a soft smile. The nurse smiled softly as she took the baby from her incubator, placing her onto Reid's chest. She then covered them both with a blanket. He started to slowly rock back and forth in the rocking chair. "I brought you something, Molly," he whispered. Slowly reaching into his satchel, he pulled out a small portable radio, placing it on the table._**

**_ He pressed 'play' and a tape started to play. It was his voice, reading King Arthur and his Knights. Reid rocked back and forth with his baby girl in his arms as his voice played through the NICU. It was just daddy and daughter, the perfect moment._**

He looked at JJ to see the tears falling down her face. "You made yourself forget her because no matter how many times your doctor and I would bring her up, you would end up going back into that state wanting more of the dilaudid," she explained.

"I had a daughter…" he whispered.

She nodded her head slowly and the two of them sat in complete silence, unsure of what to say or what to do.

Standing off in the corner, Charles was watching the two of them with a sneer. He did it, he won. He broke Dr. Spencer Reid, he could see it. The slump in the man's shoulders, his lowered head, it was the sign of defeat. He started laughing evilly under his breath.

JJ swallowed hard. "Spence…" she started.

"Why weren't there pictures of her in the house?" He asked.

"You took them all, Spence, I didn't have a say, after she died you took everything that was hers and left," she replied.

"The team?" he asked.

She let out a deep breath. "The team didn't know about her, we were able to keep this a secret. The only person who knew was Gideon," She replied. She saw the tears in his eyes and her heart broke. "Baby I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry you had to remember this way about her. This is not how I wanted you to remember her," she added.

"How did we keep a baby a secret? Did she have a funeral?" He asked.

"We're FBI agents, Spence, we told Hotch we needed time off after the Tobias case. We were on leave for a little while…I was about seven months pregnant," she replied.

"No one could tell?" he asked.

She shook her head slowly. "I was four months along when we went on our little "leave". You were doing so good, but then because of the trauma and everything dealing with Hankel, my body couldn't take it," she replied. Reid swallowed hard, lowering his head.

"I couldn't even get one good thing in my life," he whispered.

"You have so many good things in your life now, Spence, you have me and you have Henry. We love you so much," she added.

Reid lifted his head and looked at her. "Really? JJ? Do you really mean it?" he asked. She nodded her head slowly.

"I've always meant it, I've always loved you," she answered.

She let out a deep breath. "It's always been you, Spence, always," she added. Reid swallowed hard, letting out a shaky breath.

"He won't win, I won't let him," he told her.

"We won't let him win," She agreed.

Reid glanced over to see Charles watching them. "I love you, JJ," he told her.

"I love you, Spence," she answered.


	21. The Power of Love

Chapter 21: The Power of Love

Reid was trying his best to loosen the ties around his wrists. "Spence, just stop, he has them in an army knot," she told him.

"We knew he was military, still doesn't explain the whole being Tobias's brother thing," he answered as he sat back in his seat.

Charles had left for the day, went to spy on the rest of the team as he always had for the last few days. "Garcia never found anything on a sibling," She commented.

"Unless it was a child no one was supposed to know about," Reid answered as he started rocking in the chair.

"You think Tobias's mom had an affair?" JJ asked.

"Had an affair and they had Elijah who's now Charles," he replied as he looked around the room.

He started backing his chair up against the nearest wall. "Maybe Tobias had his brother hidden," JJ suggested.

"Would explain why no one has any recollection of him," Reid answered.

He started rubbing his tied wrists against the wall, hoping the roughness of the cement wall would help cut them. "So, that's why I had gone over the edge? Using dilaudid?" he asked. JJ looked at him, she wasn't expecting for the subject to change.

"Yeah, Spence, we lost you completely after she died," she replied.

Reid frowned, swallowing hard. "She was beautiful," he murmured. She nodded her head slowly.

"There were so many days I needed to talk to you, because I loved her just as much as you did, but I couldn't reach you. You were gone, the Spencer Reid I knew was gone," she answered, her voice shaking.

"And then you met Will…" he said slowly.

"And then I met Will," she agreed softly.

He looked at JJ. "You said yesterday that it was always me, is that why you never agreed to marry him?" he asked. JJ let out a sigh.

"Every time I wanted to say 'yes' but then I kept thinking that it should have been us a long time ago," she replied, "I loved Will."

"But not as much as you still loved me," he concluded.

JJ was silent as she stared at the floor. "For what it's worth, I never stopped loving you either," he answered, "You were always the woman for me."

"You remember a lot about our relationship more than anything else," she commented.

"You were and are the best part of my life," he replied.

He smiled at her. "You know what?" he asked.

"What?" she asked.

"I think we should get married," He said suddenly.

She couldn't help but laugh, they were trapped in the middle of nowhere by a crazy, revenge-ridden unsub and he was talking about getting married. "Spence, I really don't think this is the time to talk about this," she commented.

"Sure it is, we get out of here, let's do it. Let's get married," he answered.

She could see he was truly serious about this and smiled at him. "Yeah, let's do it," she agreed. Reid gave her a smile when he felt the ropes giveaway and held his wrists up.

"Let's get out of here," He murmured as he ran over to untie her wrists.

Suddenly, he heard the click of a gun and Reid froze in his place, his hands raised. "You really thought you could escape that easily?" Charles asked. Instead of answering, Reid grabbed his arm and twisted the gun out of it. He grabbed the hunting knife that was in Charles's belt and dropped it into JJ's hand so she could get herself out of her trap as he ran behind a wall when Charles grabbed his other gun, firing at him. "Give it up, Reid! I'll kill your new fiancé here and now!" he called out.

JJ glared at Charles, kicking him in the knees and got up as the ropes came lose on her wrists. Reid ran out from his hiding spot, grabbing her hand. "Let's go," he told her as they ran out of the room. They looked up to see at least a dozen flight of steps. "We better start climbing," he commented. They jumped when a shot was fired and Charles ran out of the room. Reid held the gun up, firing several shots. "Get out, JJ!" he called out to her.

"Spence, I'm not leaving here without you," She answered.

"He has a gun and probably some bombs strapped somewhere, you need to get out of here, call Hotch for backup," he told her as they ducked behind a wall.

He came out from behind the wall, firing shots back at Charles. "I told you that we were never splitting up again," She answered.

"This time, you have to break that agreement," he told her, looking at her.

Reid looked at her, their eyes were locked together when Charles fire another round of shots at them. "Please, just go," he insisted, "I'll be fine, I promise." Instead of answering, she placed her hand on the back of his neck and kissed him deeply. He kissed her back, his hand resting on her waist as he pulled her a little closer.

"I love you," she told him.

"I love you," he answered, "Go, I've got you covered."

Nodding, she let out a deep breath as Reid went out from behind the wall, firing more shots at the unsub while she took off up the stairs. The two of them continued to fire shots at each other, until both of their guns started clicking. "Dammit," Reid muttered under his breath.

"What happens now, Dr. Reid? Your girl's gone now, your gun's empty, it's just you and me," Charles sneered as he walked closer to the wall.

Reid looked around for any means of escaping, but Charles was now blocking the only exit. "What happens now?" the unsub sneered, "You pushed your girl away, your kid's dead, your mom's a nut job in a mental hospital, what exactly do you have?" Reid stood up and came out from behind the wall.

"I still have a family, something you never had," Reid answered, "Your brother was a crazy man who didn't get the help he needed and in turn it got him killed."

"My brother was a good man," Charles snapped.

"Your brother was mentally sick, and he didn't suffer," he stated.

Charles let out a shout as he ran at Reid, grabbing him around the waist and slammed his back up against the wall. Reid winced as his back hit the corner, the air knocked out of him. The man went to punch him in the stomach when Reid blocked the attack, kicking him in the stomach. The man let him drop to the floor and Reid kicked him in the side, sending him backwards. The unsub reached into his belt, pulling out another hunting knife.

He took a swipe at Reid's middle who easily backed up from the would-be attack. He dodged the knife swipes at his body, remembering what Morgan had taught him for just in case scenarios such as these. "Come on, Dr. Reid, fight me," Charles hissed. Reid grabbed his arm, slamming his wrist against the wall to knock the knife out of it. The knife fell and Reid kicked it under the stairs before he elbowed the man in the stomach.

Outside, JJ ran as fast as she could towards Charles's van. She broke the window to it, finding the car phone she knew he had in it. She searched for it, finding it under the seat. Grabbing the phone, she dialed Hotch's number. "Agent Hotchner," he answered.

"Hotch, it's JJ, I'm on a car phone right now I need you to get Garcia to track this," she told him.

"We're tracking you, JJ, where are you?" Hotch asked.

"I don't know, I just escaped, Spence is still in there with Charles," she replied.

"We're on our way," Hotch told her.

"Hurry," JJ answered before she let the phone sit on the seat and she ran back inside.

She ran down the stairs to find Charles pinning Reid to the wall with his hands around his throat. "Just when you thought you could win," Charles sneered. She ran up behind the man, kicking him in the back, making him drop Reid. He spun around, punching the woman in the face. Reid got up from the floor and grabbed the man around his throat, yanking him off JJ. The man ran backwards, slamming Reid up against the wall a few times, grabbing his arms and then throwing him onto his back. "SPENCE!" he heard JJ shout. He opened his eyes to see a gun aimed right in his face.

"You lose, Dr. Reid," he sneered.

Before Charles could pull the trigger, Reid had grabbed his discarded knife and shoved it into his thigh. As he was trying to grab the knife from his leg, Reid got up and punched him in the face so hard it knocked him to the ground. "No…you lose," he answered, trying to catch his breath. They looked up when the door upstairs burst open.

"FBI!" he heard Morgan call out.

"We're down here!" Reid answered.

JJ walked over, hugging Reid tightly. He hugged her back, feeling nothing but relief. "You two alright?" Hotch asked as they came down the stairs.

"Yeah, we're fine," Reid replied as he hugged JJ a little tighter.

JJ hugged him back before she went to grab a blanket for her and Reid that their new recruit, Agent Alex Blake, was holding out for them. As Morgan went to grab Charles, Reid looked just as Charles shoved Morgan backwards, punching him in the face and grabbing his gun. In slow motion, Reid looked from the gun and to where he was aiming, right for JJ. "JENNIFER!" he shouted. JJ looked up as the unsub went to pull the trigger when Reid grabbed her and shielded her from the shot. Another shot was fired and Charles was on the ground with a bullet in the shoulder from Hotch. "You okay?" Reid asked, holding onto her.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Good…that's good…" Reid murmured before his legs gave out.  
"Spence!" JJ exclaimed as he collapsed.

Morgan ran over, grabbing Reid as he almost hit the ground. "I NEED A MEDIC!" he shouted. JJ saw the blood coming from his back and her eyes grew wide as everything moved in slow motion.

"SPENCE!" she shouted in agony as she placed her hands on his face.

Medics rushed down the stairs, running towards the injured agent as Morgan got up, letting them do their job and he held onto JJ as she was on the verge of collapsing. The team rushed out the door with the medics as they were loading the now injured agent into the truck while Charles was getting put into another ambulance, laughing maniacally. "He loses! Yes! Spencer Reid finally loses!" he said cackling as the doors closed.


	22. Visit from an Old Friend

Chapter 2: Visit from an Old Friend

_Reid opened his eyes, he had no idea where he was. The room he was in was so white it almost burnt his eyes. "You really know how to scare people," a voice said beside him. Looking to his right, he was shocked to see William LaMontagne Jr. standing by a pillar, his arms crossed over his chest._

_"Will?" he asked, stunned._

_"Hello there, Reid, long time no see," the other man answered with a grin._

_ Walking over, he gave the young man's shoulder a squeeze. "So…wait…am I dead?" Reid asked._

_"Not exactly, you're in between right now," Will replied._

_"So…what are you doing here?" Reid asked._

_"I was basically assigned as your guide," Will replied._

_ Reid gave him a quizzical look. "Walk with me, Reid, I'll explain what I can," he stated as they started walking through the long white halls._

_"The last thing I remember is asking JJ if she was okay," Reid commented._

_"You were doing as you had promised and then some to keep JJ safe," Will answered as they walked down a flight of stairs._

_"So…then Charles did shoot me," the young man murmured._

_"He did as of right now you're in surgery," Will replied._

_ They walked over to a large white curtain and Will pulled it back, revealing an operation room and Reid saw himself getting surgery done to remove the bullet from his back. "So…if my job to keep JJ safe was done, then why am I here?" Reid asked, swallowing hard._

_"Who said your job keeping her safe was done?" Will asked as he closed the curtain._

_ Reid gave him a quizzical look. "We don't get to pick our time to leave this planet, Reid, at least naturally we don't pick that time. You know this, you've seen more evil in this world than anyone would ever want to see," Will commented._

_"You were a cop though," Reid answered._

_"I wasn't stalked by a pedophile when I was four-years-old," Will pointed out._

_ Reid was silent as the two of them walked together. "JJ loves you, Reid. As much as I hated the idea that I could never give her what she really wanted in life, you made her happy. Never have I seen her eyes light up as bright as they did whenever you were over. As much as I loved her, I knew she didn't love me as much as she wanted to," Will explained._

_"Then why did you stay?" Reid asked._

_"Because deep down I knew she loved me, just not as much as I wanted her to. Not enough to marry me, because deep down in her, she was still in love with you," Will replied._

_ The two of them walked silently again through the halls. "Where are we going now?" Reid asked._

_"There's someone who's been wanting to see you and she made me promise that you could see her before I made you pick to stay or go," Will replied._

_ Reid gave him a quizzical look as they stopped at another room. Will knocked on the door before opening it up. "Go on in," he told the younger man. Stepping in the room, he saw that it was a child's playroom, a little girl's playroom in fact. There were stuffed animals everywhere with a princess bed, and in the corner that was a little off with everything else was a little solar system._

_"Daddy!" a voice gasped._

_ He looked over and saw a little girl about six-years-old standing by a little pink table that had a tea set and stuffed animals sitting around it. She had shoulder-length wavy brown hair, bright blue eyes, and she was wearing a white dress. His knees gave out and the little girl ran to him, hugging him tightly around his neck. "Molly…" he whispered, hugging her as tight as he could._

_"Hi daddy," Molly said smiling._

_ He let her go and held onto her little hands. "Molly…you're so pretty," he told his daughter, touching her cheek, "But…"_

_"She would've been six-years-old, the limbo part of you makes you see her as you wanted to see her," Will told him._

_ Reid smiled through his tears as he stroked his daughter's hair lightly. "It's okay daddy," She told him. He gave her a quizzical look. "You couldn't save me, it's okay, it's nice here," she added, "Mr. Will is nice too, he's been fun to play with."_

_"I don't know much about playing girls' games," Will commented, making Reid laugh._

_ Molly touched her father's cheek, wiping tears from his eyes. "You can go home, daddy, mommy needs you yet. Mommy and my little sister," she stated. Reid was staring at the little girl, swallowing hard._

_"Little sister?" he asked._

_ She nodded with a beaming smile._

In the hospital, JJ was sitting beside Reid's bed, holding his hand. The surgery was a success, but he was still in critical condition. She was moving her thumb over his knuckles as she swallowed hard. "Spence…I don't know if you can hear me," she whispered, "But this is the third time I've sat beside your bed, waiting for you to wake up." Tears welled up in her eyes as she lowered her head. "I don't know how to live without you, I tried, but I couldn't do it. The whole time I was with Will, all I could do was think about you. All I could do was wish that Henry was ours, he should've been ours. Just like Molly was supposed to be ours and I'm so sorry you lost everything," she told him.

Sniffling, she pushed her hair from her eyes. "I wish you understood how much you mean to me, I know I was stupid and wouldn't tell you before, but I was so scared that I would lose you forever if I opened up again. Tobias took everything from us, he won in more ways that one," she added. She lifted his hand up and kissed his knuckles softly.

_Reid got up and walked over to the door, hearing JJ talk. "She misses you daddy," Molly told him, wrapping her arms around his leg. He stared at the blond woman who was trying so hard to keep everything together._

_"It's your choice, Spencer. You can stay here, be with Molly, or you can go and finally have that second chance you've been wanting with Jennifer," Will told him._

_ Reid looked over his shoulder and let out a deep breath. "A little sister though?" he asked Molly._

_"Yeah, she's going to be pretty, I helped pick her out," Molly said beaming._

_ He lifted his daughter up and hugged her tightly. Molly hugged him back with soft smile on her face._

As JJ was resting her arms on the bed, trying to get some sleep when she suddenly felt a finger brush against her cheek. "I love you, JJ," he whispered. She stood up with a huge smile on her face.

"Spence," She whispered, touching his hair.

Reid smiled at her, even though his back was killing him. "Charles…" he started.

"Don't worry about him, he's taken care of," she assured him.

Reaching up, he ran his hand over her arm. "I thought I lost you for good," she murmured.

"I must be blessed, because I was given another chance, this time I'm not going to mess it up," he answered.

Smiling, she rested her forehead against his. "I saw Molly," He told her. She sat beside him as he held onto her hand. "She was so beautiful, JJ," he answered.

"She would've been as smart as her daddy," she answered.

"I saw Will too," he told her.

JJ swallowed hard, staring at their clasped hands. "He loves you and he wants you to be happy," he told her. Smiling, she ran her fingers over his jaw.

"But I am happy, I'm very happy now," She answered, making him smile.

He rested his hand on her knee when his hand inched up towards her stomach. "Is the baby okay?" he asked. She was stunned at his question, she had only just found out herself that she was pregnant, she was going to surprise him.

"How…" she started.

"Molly told me," he replied.

Laughing a little, she rested her hand over his. "The baby's fine," She assured him, "I'm about twelve weeks along now." Smiling, he ran his and over her flat stomach.

"Hi little girl, this is your daddy talking, I love you," he said to her stomach.

He pressed a kiss to her stomach as she ran her fingers through his hair. When the pain in his back got too much, he sat back up and held onto JJ's hand. "Jennifer," he murmured.

"Yeah," she answered.

Reid gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Will you marry me?" he asked, "I promise this time we'll make to the altar." Laughing she leaned forward and kissed him deeply. He kissed her back, resting his hand on the side of her neck.

"Yes," she whispered against his lips before deepening their kiss.

"Alright pretty boy, you beat death again and got yourself a girl," Morgan quipped as he walked in.

They pulled back as the res of the team came into the room. "How are you feeling?" Garcia asked as she rested her hand on his knee.

"Good, I can remember everything," he replied.

They stared at him in shock. "You remember everything?" Emily asked. He nodded with a small smile.

"Everything," he answered.

"Well this day keeps getting better," Morgan commented.

"Just hang in there, Reid, your desk will be waiting for you when you come back," Rossi told him.

Reid smiled as he sat back. "Uncle Spence!" Henry called out as he ran into the room.

"Hey buddy," he said smiling, embracing the boy as JJ helped him up onto the bed.

JJ stood on the other side of Reid's bed, hugging both him and her son. "You're right, Morgan, everything is getting better," she agreed smiling.


	23. The Start of Life

Chapter 23: The Start of Life

JJ was resting in her bed with her fiancé lying behind her. Her stomach was rounded with their child, his hand was resting over hers as they were sleeping peacefully. Reid suddenly woke up, looking towards the window and smiled to see snow on the ground. "JJ," he whispered.

"Hmm? What is it, Spence?" JJ asked tiredly.

"It's snowing," he replied.

Opening her eyes, she looked at the window and smiled to see the snow falling outside. "The first snow of the season," She murmured. Reid rested his hand on JJ's stomach, feeling their unborn daughter move underneath his hand. JJ reached up, resting her hand over his.

"I'll never get sick of that feeling," he told her.

"Really? Last I knew feeling a baby move in me freaked you out," she replied.

Reid chuckled lightly, kissing her shoulder as he held her closer. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," She answered smiling.

She looked at Reid with a soft smile as she moved her finger over his jaw. Leaning forward, he kissed her lightly as her hand moved to the back of his neck, deepening their kiss.

During the day, JJ was standing outside with her fiancé and son, watching as Reid was chasing a giggling Henry around in the backyard. Resting her hands on her stomach, she tilted her head back and let the snow drop on her face.

Reid was tickling Henry on the ground when he looked over to see JJ spinning around in circles with her arms out to her side. "What's mama doing?" Henry asked.

"She's thinking," he replied as JJ stopped spinning around and stared walking through their yard.

Realizing she was being watched, JJ looked over to see Reid smiling at her while Henry ran to play by himself. Getting up from the ground, he brushed the snow off his clothes and walked over to her. "What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"I'm wondering when I'm waking up," she replied, "We're too happy again."

She moved her arms around his waist while his hands rested over her stomach. "No, we're fine, we're allowed to have this now. Charles is in jail, he'll never see the light of day again," he told her. JJ smiled, resting her head on his chest. Reid held her close as they stood there hugging each other tightly.

"After all the hell we've been through, I'm surprised we've survived it," she murmured.

"It's not our time yet, so we're just supposed to be happy with what we have," he answered.

He looked over at Henry to see him making another snow angel. "Henry! Come on buddy let's go have some cocoa!" he called out.

"With marshmallows right?" Henry asked as he got up.

"Of course, what other way is there to drink cocoa?" Reid asked as he lifted the boy up, having him sit on his side as the three of them went inside.

While Henry was sitting in the living room with his snack, JJ was at the table going through the paper with her own cup. "How's the baby handling that?" he asked.

"She likes it, she keeps kicking around whenever I have a sip," she replied smiling.

Reid kissed her shoulder when he saw the wedding magazines in front of her. "Garcia's been doing your work I see," he commented when he saw their tech's handwriting in the magazines.

"Oh yeah, she can't wait until she's born so she can watch my try on wedding dresses," She replied.

Looking at her, he reached across the table. "Looks like you have a dress in mind though," He commented, pulling out her parents' wedding picture that she had sitting under the magazine. Taking the picture in her hand, she moved her thumb over her parents' faces in the picture.

"I haven't talked to mom about borrowing her dress for it," she replied, looking at him.

"Why don't you call and ask her?" he asked.

"I just haven't had a chance yet. We've been too busy planning for the baby," she replied.

"Speaking of the baby, we need to talk about names yet," he told her.

"No Star Wars names, Spence, I told you that before," she answered.

He chuckled lightly. "No, I thought of another name. It's an older name, but I think the meaning of it will fit her," He replied, sliding a paper to her. Taking the paper, she opened it to see what name it was with the meaning written beside it.

"It's perfect for her," she replied.

He leaned across the table and kissed her. JJ kissed him back softly, resting her hands over his hands that were on the table.

Two weeks later, JJ was in the living room when she heard a crash upstairs. Frowning, she got up and went upstairs to find out what was going on. "Dammit, Reid! I told you to watch it!" she heard Morgan exclaim.

"Hey! You bumped into me!" Reid answered.

"Am I going to send you both to your room?" JJ asked as she opened the door.

The sight she saw made her burst into a fit of laughter. Morgan was standing in the middle of the tarp covered nearly finished nursery with paint covering him from head to toe. "What happened?" she asked, giggling.

"Morgan walked into my ladder, knocked the paint onto his head," Reid answered.

Morgan wiped the paint from his face while JJ was laughing. Suddenly, he grabbed a paint brush and ran it over Reid's face and head. The woman was laughing so hard her stomach started to hurt. She was leaning against the doorframe to steady herself. "I have one kid in the house and I'm carrying another, yet you two are acting like the biggest children I've ever known," she told them, wiping the tears from her face as she was laughing.

"He started it," they answered in unison.

JJ shook her head slowly, leaving the room. "Make sure you two don't make a bigger mess!" she called out before going into the master bedroom.

That night, JJ walked downstairs to find her fiancé showered and sitting with a book in his hands. "Hey," she said smiling, kissing his cheek.

"Hey," he answered.

"What are you looking at?" she asked as she sat down beside him.

"I found these under my old bed in what's now our guest room," he replied.

He showed her the photo album. "Molly's pictures!" she gasped with tears in her eyes. She hadn't seen these pictures since Reid took them all after Molly's death. "Oh Spence…" she whispered.

"I didn't have the right to take these from you," he told her.

JJ stroked his cheek lightly. "Hey, look at me," she answered, getting him to face her. Reid looked at her and she kissed him lightly. "That's the past, we need to move forward," she said softly. Nodding his head slowly, he hugged her tightly. She hugged him back, letting out a deep breath.

As the couple slept that night, JJ woke up with a slight twinge of pain in her stomach. Ignoring it, she went back to sleep but then it happened again ten minutes later. She gasped, sitting up. "JJ, what is it?" Reid asked, sitting up.

"Um…contractions," she replied.

Immediately he jumped out of bed, getting his clothes on when JJ suddenly let out another gasp. "What? What's wrong?" he asked, looking at her.

"My water…my water just broke," she replied, looking at him.

"You're not due for another two weeks," he told her.

"Henry was three weeks early," She replied, letting out a deep breath as Reid helped her out of bed.

She was able to get herself changed into a different pair of sweatpants while Reid called Garcia to come watch Henry while he got JJ to the hospital. In a flash the tech analyst was there. "Call me when she's here," Garcia told them.

"We will," JJ answered as Reid grabbed her go bag out of the closet.

She grabbed his hand as he helped her out of the house and to the waiting car, driving her to the hospital.

**(Three Hours Later)**

JJ was breathing through another contraction while gripping Reid's hand. "I just need you to relax, Jennifer," the doctor told her.

"Doc, if you tell me to relax one more time I'll make sure _you're_ not able to have kids," JJ snapped.

Reid bit his tongue to keep himself from laughing, but that immediately stopped when JJ gripped his hand tighter. When the contraction finally passed, she let out a deep breath. "You're doing great," he told her.

"Spence, I just need you to hold me, alright?" she asked.

"That's a question you never need to ask," he replied.

JJ moved so she was on her side and Reid moved behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist while her hand rested over his. He rested his forehead against the side of her head. Whenever a contraction would hit, she would grip his arm so tightly he could feel her nails start to puncture the skin. "Just breathe, JJ, just breathe," he told her.

"Breathing doesn't do anything," she answered.

"It gives you and the baby the oxygen you need," he told her, "You've been through this, you know how important the breathing part is."

Nodding her head slowly, she started to breathe again, relaxing when it finally passed. "Everything will be okay, we've been through worse," he told her. Smiling, she nodded her head slowly.

"A lot worse," She replied.

While she rested between contractions, Reid was moving his fingers through her hair while the iPod they had brought with them was playing some Beethoven music, something calm and classical that calmed everyone in the room. "I don't think I've ever seen such a team," a nurse commented as she was prepping everything for the arrival of the baby.

"She was my partner for the longest time, we know how to work together well professionally as well as personally," he replied.

JJ smiled, giving his hand a light squeeze. "Spence, I need to push," She told him sitting up. Reid moved to get off the bed. "No! Stay," she told him, "Just sit behind me, please, I need you here."

"I'm here, I'm here, I'm not going anywhere," he assured her as he moved so he was sitting behind her.

"Okay, Jennifer I need you to push now," the doctor told her.

Reid held onto JJ's hands as she was pushing. He was lightly encouraging her, whispering things to her that actually kept her calm during the delivery. JJ gave one final push and their daughter's screams filled the room. "Here she is," The doctor said smiling, showing the couple their daughter.

Moving so he could have JJ lie back and get more comfortable, he cut the umbilical cord before the doctor wrapped her up in a blanket placing her into the new father's arms. "She's so beautiful…" he told JJ walking over to her. He kissed her forehead before placing their daughter into her arms.

"Hi sweetheart, oh look at you…you are so beautiful," She cooed, looking at the infant.

Reid smiled, kissing his fiancé's forehead. The baby was calm, she only screamed for just a minute, but now she was quiet, looking around, or at least she was trying to. "She's observant," he commented.

"Like her dad," she said smiling.

"What's her name?" The nurse asked.

JJ looked at her daughter, holding her tiny hand between her thumb and index finger. "Helena Molly Diana Reid," She replied. The nurse wrote the name down and left the couple alone to be with their new daughter.

When Garcia came by with Henry, Reid helped the little boy up onto the bed. "Hey buddy, come say hi to your new sister, Helena," JJ said smiling. Henry looked at the sleeping baby in his mother's arm.

"Hi, Helena," he whispered, kissing his sister's head.

"You're going to help watch out for her, right bud?" Reid asked.

Henry nodded with a huge smile on her face. "Okay perfect family picture moment right here," Garcia insisted with a grin.

"Not yet, we need everyone," Reid answered.

He looked at his daughter, stroking her soft cheek. "We need the whole team, we're all a family," he told her.

"What was that pretty boy?" Morgan asked as he and the rest of the team came in.

"Family picture, everyone needs to be in it," JJ replied.

"Since we are a family," Reid put in.

The team smiled before they gathered around the bed. "Hey, one second," Reid told them. He let JJ go and hurried out of the room, coming back with a nurse. "Can you take a picture of us?" he asked.

"What are you doing?" Garcia asked.

"We can't have a picture without our baby girl," Morgan answered with a grin as Reid took the camera from her and handed it to the nurse.

Morgan grabbed Garcia's hand, pulling her to him while Reid took his spot beside JJ, Henry, and Helena. "Alright, everyone smile," the nurse told them. They smiled and she took a picture of them, the perfect family picture.


End file.
